Naruto 1. Chapter 1

_The fact that I finally finished one chapter is just surprise enough. I want to thank everyone who patiently waited._

_Also those who read A PLACE TO STAY and THANK YOU_

_:) _

_Just that people are even reading more stories just brings a smile to my face._

_Without further blabbing that i am doing, I present,_

_THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN YOU AND I_

* * *

**Chapter 1**

Shikaku sat across from the current Hokage who had a file open on her desk. Shikaku as well had a file but wasn't even attempting to read what it said it was more a skim, rather than a full out read.

Honestly Shikaku didn't even want to be in this office right now. He hated desk work, it was the most boring thing anyone could possibly ever do. That was pretty much the main reason he never even thought about accepting the title of Hokage if he was offered, and his name came up every now and again because of his IQ, too much damn desk work.

Actually too much work period.

The file he was skimming was in fact written very poorly and he could barely even make out what it said. He made a mental note to complain about that later.

"Do you have a team in mind?" Tsunade asked him. He was supposed to be thinkning up a team? He wasn't aware that's what he was supposed to be doing.

What really happened was that he was asked to come see the Hokage, he walked in, and when she gestured him to sit, he did so, and then she forced a file into his hand without a word, and so he began to skim.

"Sorry?" he replied.

"This is your mission, you're the one that pulled together this intelligence team."

"And you're asking if I had a team in mind to infiltrate?"

"That would be correct." Tsunade said closing the file and laying on her desk. Her desk was filled with piles of them. He was surprised she could find place for the current file she was reading.

"Well, I've decided that I will be going myself, sorry, but you're ninja are rather, how do I put it nicely, not up to par with the amount of intelligence needed." Shikaku said placing the file on her desk. "For example I had not even a guess about what the shinobi even wrote in that file it was a complete mess. They should learn how to write before they are sent out into the field." Shikaku scoffed. "Honestly, and you have these people as trained shinobi, I'm surprised they can even eat and breathe on their own."

"You're the one that selected them." Tsunade shot back

"You're the one that handed me the files of all qualified intelligence division shinobi."

"Fine, it's my fault they have terrible writing abilities."

"As long as you admit it." Shikaku said with a victory grin. He figured he complained enough about the mysterious font of writing and tossed the mental note into his mental garbage bin "So myself, and... Genma, I want him, he has excellent skills and I think he has excellent penmanship."

"Very well," Tsunade said and scribbled Shikaku's and Genma's names onto a piece of paper. "Anyone else?"

"Yes, Raido, he gets along with Genma very well, teamwork will be a necessity in this mission and along with the fact they get along so well, they are on par with each other and could probably bring down a platoon of men by themselves." Tsunade scribbled his name down as well. "And finally to complete my team, I need a medic, someone who isn't going to slow us down either, so Sakura."

"Sakura?" Tsunade looked up from her paper and questioned Shikaku's decision which might have been the first time that actually happened.

"Of course, she was trained by you, excellent medic skills of course, can take down someone without a sweat, she took down an Akatuski member, I think that's reason enough, and she won't slow us down, she's perfect for it."

"She's a chunin."

"And Naruto's a genin, do you really think that rank determines a person's strength in this village anymore?" Shikaku joked.

"….very well…." Tsunade wrote down the name Sakura Haruno on the piece of paper as well. Tsunade wasn't happy with the choice it wasn't that Sakura wasn't qualified, she was with flying colors, she just wasn't sure if she could _emotionally_ handle it. "Is that it?"

"I believe so." Shikaku said.

"I'll make a file you four, leave tomorrow morning, I'll get each team member in for a brief rundown on the situation. I'll leave the rest to you." Shikaku nodded and then exited after Tsunade's final words.

* * *

In the small diner, there were four young shinobi all sitting at a table. Naruto Uzumaki, a loud blonde haired boy that had the large ambition of being Hokage, Shikamaru Nara, the second smartest shinobi in the village, the first being his father, but was defiantly the laziest shinobi. Choji Akimichi, Shikamaru's best friend and had a rather large appetite. He seemed to be the only one eating at the table. And finally Sakura Haruno, a girl with pink hair and green eyes. She was the one yelling at the boys to quiet down. The four had just returned from a mission and were starving.

"Oi! Leave some for us Choji!" Shikamaru said to him rather annoyed.

"Ms. Waitress can we have some more meat?!" Naruto yelled with a wide grin. Choji chewed loudly and spoke words no one understood because of the food in his mouth.

"Will you three quiet down and act civilized!" Sakura said, irritated by their behavior, between Choji chewing with his mouth open, Naruto yelling at the top of his lungs and laughing obnoxiously, in her ear for that matter, and Shikamaru complaining and repeating the phrase, "What a drag."

Her head was going to explode.

"Haruno Sakura." Said a voice from the side of the table. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked over.

"Yes?" Sakura said to the ANBU that had confronted the table. It was rather strange being approached this way in a public place.

Sakura stared at the ANBU waited for him to say something else. She knew ANBU approached ninja to tell them important information, gather them for the Hokage, but most of the time it was for the protection, of the shinobi, the ANBU spoke to. The information or the reason the Hokage needed that shinobi was classified. Typically on a need-to-know basis. It was something she picked up on when she worked with Tsunade herself.

"You are needed by the Hokage, for a mission. She wishes to see you now." The ANBU said and then left the diner by a transportation jutsu.

He wasn't far from her position though, she knew that he would be watching making sure nothing suspicious would come about. It was a good method, if a shinobi was approached by an ANBU at random an enemy attacker could think that the specific shinobi was valuable, they could come out from anywhere and kill that shinobi for the information or take their place for the meeting with the Hokage, however what they don't know is that the ANBU is always watching and would kill that person faster than the shinobi would even realize that they were being followed, something Shikaku came up with years ago, a couple years before Minato Namikaze became the fourth Hokage.

Sakura rose up from the table and waved to the others and left the restaurant with the idea of heading to Tsunade's, the Hokage building. When she went to leave she realized that it was actually pouring out, heavily. She just shrugged and accepted the fact that she was going to get drenched.

She entered the Hokage building and walked up to Tsunade's office, passing Genma on the way, she gave him a wave and a small smile and he gave one back.

She knocked on Tsunade's door and when she heard her yell "Enter!" she opened the door and walking into the Hokage's office. "Oh, good Sakura, you're here."

"You wanted to see me?" Sakura said, and she closed the door behind her.

"Yes, I have a mission for you." Tsunade said rooting through the many files on her desk.

"Really? I just got back."

"You were requested for this mission by the captain in charge himself." She said pulling out a file.

"Oh." Tsunade handed Sakura the file and on the front of the file was a large stamp that read, CLASSIFIED

"This mission is an infiltration and conformation of a hideout found, it is believed to be Orochimaru's." Tsunade began to say. Sakura was skimming over the notes left by one the shinobi who went to retrieve information on this hideout she was about to be sent on a mission to infiltrate. When Tsunade said the name Orochimaru, Sakura remained stolid pretending that the name didn't phase her. "You'll be going with Genma, Raido, and your team captain will be Shikaku. You four will penetrate the hideout, discover if it is in fact Orochimaru's, estimate the amount of people they have, find out if Uchiha Sasuke is still alive and try and find out Orochimaru's other intentions and plans for the future."

"Seems like a lot." Sakura said. She pretended like the name Sasuke didn't have an effect on her either. She was emotionless to the human eye.

"If you haven't guessed already this is an A-rank mission. Shikaku chose you three specifically." Tsunade said and Sakura nodded at what her Hokage had said.

She looked through the file some more and read small notes that were attacted to the file. The notes read why team members were chosen the possibility of success and fail and notes about known enemies, such as Kabuto, Sasuke and the king himself, Orochimaru. "You'll be leaving tomorrow, meet Shikaku at the front of the village." Sakura nodded again and then handed back the file.

"Tsunade, I just don't understand, why wasn't Shizune given this mission, instead of me?" Shizune was more qualified than Sakura, she was a jonin and had been on a whole lot more A-ranked missions than her.

"Like I said Sakura, I wasn't the one who chose you, Shikaku was, you'd have to ask him." Tsunade said and then smiled. "I'll see you when you get back." Sakura smiled and then left the office of the Hokage.

It was still raining when Sakura left the Hokage building. She walked home in the rain without a care that she was getting drenched from the water that fell from the sky. On her walk she saw Naruto in the park that was a few blocks from her house. He sat on the bench being rained on. She wasn't quite sure why he was there in the first place. She should stop by and say hello, ask what was bothering him, or maybe brighten up his mood, but maybe it was better to leave him alone. Continuing her walk she saw Shikamaru running home to get cover from the rain. And in Ino's flower shop it was Ino and her mother cleaning up for the night.

It seemed everyone was carrying on with their lives except her and Naruto, still searching and fighting everyday for their teammate. The very teammate she was bound to run into during this mission.

She finally arrived home and unlocked the door and turned on the lights. Her parents were on a mission in another country and she wouldn't be seeing them for quite awhile. Just in case the mission went horribly wrong she took piece a paper and wrote a message saying she was going a mission, it was highly classified, and that she loved both of them.

She went and packed upstairs in a small bag, things that were essentials. A canteen, solider pills, medical bandages, other medical materials she may need, and an extra set of kunais.

She went into the bathroom next and took a hot shower, changed into pajamas, white pants with pink polka dots and a regular white tank top. She laid out the clothes she would wear tomorrow, and her bag right next to it set her alarm, ate something quick to fulfill her hunger since she was interrupted at dinner with the others, by the ANBU who came.

She finally laid down and fell asleep.

Morning came quickly and Sakura woke up to the screaming of her alarm. She quickly got up brushed her hair, changed, tied her forehead protector on the top of her head, she grabbed her bag took an apple out of the fridge, she took a big bite of it before exiting her house and locking it behind her. She walked through the village and made her way to the gates to meet up with her team to adventure out on this mission.

"How are you this fine morning?" Genma said when Sakura came into his view.

"Fantastic." Sakura responded.

Sakura went on a few missions with Genma and she just learned to expect he was like Kakashi, except on time, but he continuously made comments about how she was pretty, and compliment her on her strengths. However like Kakashi he was the guy that was never left unnoticed and be underestimated in their intelligence, he would shake everything off and remain calm at all times, and always outsmart his opponent in some way and go down with a fight. He almost always told her how she could be better.

He said that he would love to teach me a thing or two about transportation jutsu, and one day I took him up on that offer. She spent a month learning the Flying Thunder God Technique, which by the way was the technique that the fourth Hokage used that gave him the nickname "The Yellow Flash", and fully mastered it by the second month.

She had only worked with Raido on one or two missions. He was nice and the missions she was on with him he was with Genma the whole time, those two were pretty much connected by the hip. Raido seemed to always be around when you needed him.

However, Shikaku was the mystery of it all. The only time Sakura had really ever spoken to Shikaku was when she would hang out with Shikamaru when they were younger. Sure, she saw him around the village and sometimes in the Hokage building, when she was working with Tsunade and he decided to drop by because he was bored and then end up just making everything complicated for Tsunade and Sakura to do their work. His smarts were far more complimented than Shikamaru's and his IQ was apparently a hell of a lot higher. So when he recruited Sakura no one asked questions. Or when he did something that no one understood the reason why people just turned their cheeks and accepted it.

"Now that we're all here," Shikaku said "Let's go, there's no time to waste." He said with a grin and then the four of us exited the village when it was still dark out.

* * *

After they had left the village they kept going and didn't stop once. Sakura had been on A-ranked missions before so she knew what to expect and knew how to be calm. But she couldn't help but be a little stiff on the subject on going on a mission and possibly be seeing Sasuke. It's been so long since she saw him and she wondered if he really did change. She couldn't help but fear that the most that he was so completely blind by that ambition of his that he would actually try and kill the people that cared about him and he wouldn't even care about them in the slightest.

It brought back the memory of the day he left when she begged him to stay, to be with her and they could be happy. But unfortunately reality stepped in and stomped on that dream and hope of hers. There was something though that he said that she knew was right and was just the cold hard truth that she finally opened up her eyes to, that they were two completely different people.

She couldn't imagine leaving the village, leaving her friends behind to fulfill a goal. And then subject herself to the snake that is Orochimaru. For that one, single ambition. She often wondered if he wanted to go to Orochimaru at all, that all he wanted was the power that Orochimaru could supply him with.

Sasuke was a different person from Sakura, sure Sakura could try and imagine what Sasuke was going through if she thought long and hard about it, but the feeling she got was probably not the same at all.

The one thing though that kept her thinking after he left was when he thanked her, she often stayed up at night replaying that scene in her head, thinking about if she did something different that he would be here right now and he would be happy without the power Orochimaru had given him. She also asked herself every now and again when she was having a bad day and would be hanging around with Naruto, Ino, or Shikamaru and Choji, or even Tenten, did Sasuke have friends? Did he have fun and laugh there like all of them there at the village would? And if he came back would he be completely anti-social not speak to anyone if he didn't have social interaction while he was with Orochimaru.

She couldn't wrap her mind around the fact of how lonely it must be there in a hideout in the middle of nowhere most likely.

She kept running with the other three and she seemed to begin to start getting in a type of bad mood so she shook her head and tried to get the thought Sasuke out of her head. She couldn't be in a damper mood she had to be the happy Sakura, that everyone saw her to be.

"We'll rest here for the night." Shikaku said and he dropped down into a small area in the forest they ran in. He set down he small backpack he brought and dug out his canteen. Genma did the same but instead of standing he sort of ungracefully plopped himself on the ground and rested up against a tree. Raido sort of did the same but didn't just plop on the ground like Genma, he sat on the ground Indian style and started eating a type of crumb cake. Sakura just stood there not really sure what she was going to do or even if she was going to sit down.

"I'll go find fire wood and start a fire for the night, then go get some fish to cook." Genma said getting up while using the tree that was behind him for his support. He put another senbon in his mouth, which he took out to take a drink, and left the small opening, to find firewood. Raido continued to snack on his cake and she still just stood there not sitting down on the ground at all.

There was nothing she wanted more than to lay down in a soft warm and cushy bed. And shower. Oh she could just imagine how nice it would be to get a shower. It'd be heavenly to wash off all the sweat and dirt in scolding hot water that would melt he muscles and unwind the knots that are in her back.

Sakura finally sat down on the ground and pulled off her forehead protecter. She scratched the parts that were covered up by it for such a time and it felt wonderful. Genma had come back and started making the fire and sitting for couple seconds before he went off to try and catch some fish at the nearby stream. Raido followed him to the stream saying he'd help him catch the fish too. And so Shikaku and Sakura were left together in the forest.

"Nara-san…." Sakura was going to say more but then Shikaku stopped her.

"Call me Shikaku." He said. Sakura nodded and then began again.

"Shikaku, why did you chose me for this mission?" Sakura asked. "I mean, there were more qualified people than me for this mission."

"Well, Sakura, you see for one, you're a medic-nin, second you were trained by Tsunade herself and have her inhuman strength, and most of all you know Sasuke personally and I would imagine have a score to settle with Orochimaru, that kind of drive would help out a lot."

"So I was chosen because I know Sasuke better than the three of you?" Sakura asked.

"Yes, and no." Shikaku said. "At first I considered Naruto, because he's strong and he would be more determined that anything. But he can't do medical ninjutsu, and I really didn't want another team member on the squad because this is meant to be done with a small team so were unnoticed. And so your name came up. And the more I thought about it seemed like the right choice." Shikaku said taking a breath. "Killing two birds with one stone." he said with grin.

"I see."

"Do you have a score to settle with Orochimaru?" Shikaku asked.

"Not really. I mean, he is Orochimaru and he's, in my opinion the worst man on the planet, so I would have the same determination to complete this mission like anyone else, it was Sasuke who came to him on his own choice, Sasuke wasn't forced."

"More like persuaded." Shikaku commented. "Plus, after what happened years ago when you didn't come with my son and the others to rescue Sasuke. I thought this would also make up for it."

"I didn't go last time because I was useless and not valuable in the slightest."

"Don't think that." Shikaku said. "The others came back almost near death."

"Yeah and if I went I would have came back in a body bag rather than near death."

"You put yourself so low on the totem pole Sakura, you made the right choice though, asking Tsunade for help." Shikaku said with a sigh. "Now you are needed for almost everything a ninja does." Shikaku said with a grin. "And you're strong too."

"Thanks, but compared to Naruto…" Sakura said.

"Naruto will always be strong, and he'll always be ahead of others, that's just who he is." Shikaku said.

They was the last words that were said between the two and then Genma and Raido came back with a total of eight fish. Two for each of them. They hadn't eaten since five that morning and they were all starving. Shikaku cooked the fish over the fire while the others waited. Sakura took the time to sort through her bag to make sure everything was still there and there were no bugs crawling around in her bag. She wouldn't be too happy if while she was running and she felt a bug crawling up my neck.

When the fish were done cooking the four ate down the fish faster than they ever ate before, and they talked about the mission plans and spoke about what they would be doing if they'd be home right now.

* * *

After they ate they laid down on the cold hard ground and slept till four in the morning and then they rose up again, packed up and left. They ate apples on the run and continued for hours and hours until they reached a small town near the border of The Land of Fire.

They sat and ate in a small diner that had a rather large crowd and the fact that they were ninja was drawing attention. When they walked in the crowds of people turned around to take a glimpse at them. Some were drinking coffee, eating and then others sat at the bar stools covered in dirt and sweat from working. On the way in Sakura had noticed many farms, not the large ones, but the really small ones that only grew one crop and had a few animals.

They sat down at a table in the corner and all ordered glasses of water. Genma had ordered pumpkin broth and Yakiniku(a), Shikaku ordered Donburi(b), Raido got Sukiyaki and Sakura got a rice balls with umeboshi(c).

They ate and relaxed for a little until headed out again. Once they crossed the border they decided they would stop now, get up early tomorrow and would get there by noon.

The ritual like the other night played again they ate fish, talked, slept on the ground.

They got up early and then left and were scheduled to arrive at the hideout around noon. They didn't stop until we all started sensing large chakra over in a large area in the woods. Around many tall trees. They stopped right then and there to conceal their chakra even more and Sakura had to take a moment to close her eyes and take a deep breath.

Sasuke could be there.

Sakura started to think about what would she would do if she did in fact see Sasuke. She wasn't that girl anymore than screamed and cried because she wanted something or one that would beg for something for her own selfish reasons.

So what would she do?

Ask his to come back because everyone missed him?

The village needed him?

His power and skills aren't being used for good with Orochimaru?

He's wasting his time there?

All those answers he could easily fire back with a retort of his own about his brother, power, and the death of his family the things that were the center of Sasuke's world. And nothing else mattered. That was another difference between him and her she thought too much about other people rather than herself, and all that he thought about was himself and his revenge.

They stood in the tops of trees for a bit moving every now and then closer to the hideout. Genma was on the north side, Raido on the south, Sakura on the west, and Shikaku on the east. They used radios to communicate with each other.

"So far on my side I see two."

"Two over here as well."

"I got a full view of four."

"Seven, and it looks like two are the big guys on campus."

"A total of fifteen."

"What should we do?"

"Raido, take out the two on your side."

….

"Taken down."

"I took mine down as well, so we're down to eleven. Sakura take out the four."

"Got it." Sakura sent kunai into all four of them at once. And they all went down to the ground.

"And then they were seven." Genma said.

"All of us go to Genma."

The three moved over to Genma and once they met up Shikaku took a look at the seven, and two guys that looked strong.

"We should take out the five before the other two so the five don't get in the way." Shikaku said. "Raido, Sakura get down there and take out the five, quickly, then myself and Genma will take out the other two, you two will help when you take out the five, it shouldn't be hard."

It seemed all too easy.

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_Thanks for reading :) Hope you're excited for the next chapter, I'm going to make this a weekly thing. Chapters will be up every Friday. Between work and everything it's just easier if I do this. Thanks :)_

_And PLEASE REVIEW, I love your opinions!_


	2. Chapter 2

_When I went to upload this, it wouldn't work and I had a mental attack because I seriously worked on this for the past maybe two hours._

_Before anything last chapter I forgot to write what the food they were eating at that diner. I really didn't feel like going back and redoing the whole chapter just for that. So if i really was a necessity that you absolutely needed to know what those foods were you could just insert them in google. _

_I'll stop here because believe me I can ramble on forever! _

_And now here we go! CHAPTER 2_

_Chapter 3 of course will be up next Friday!_

* * *

Chapter 2

Sakura stood in the tree with Raido, and Shikaku and Genma were behind them.

They had to take down the five that were standing down there with the two, in Genma's words, "The big guys on campus"; it seemed easy enough to take them out.

Or maybe to easy?

Sakura was the one to jump down from the tree and land softly, and without noise on the ground below, the bushes in front of her kept her hidden from the seven that were part of Orochimaru's gang of rebels.

Raido did the same as she did, landing a couple inches away from Sakura and they both waited a couple seconds behind the tall green bushes that concealed them from enemy eyes.

Sakura held onto a kunai behind her back and was going to take charge, and take at least one out without getting close. She took the kunai aimed at one of the five her and Raido were targeting, and flung it straight for his heart.

It would've worked too.

The man she aimed the kunai at, not even two seconds before it reached his heart, grabbed it before the object lodged itself into his body.

He looked over towards the bushes, straight into the eyes of Sakura.

"Looks like we have rats." He said with an evil grin and plunged the kunai he had just caught, into the ground.

Shit. Well there goes the plan that she was going to take out at least one without being seen.

Raido quickly emerged from the bushes and without any the enemies even noticing that he left the bushes; he took out one of the five. The first fell to the ground and hit with a big thump, he was now just a lifeless body rather than a target.

Sakura took off almost immediately and cut open the one that she went for before with the kunai, but this time she did strike him and he did go down to the ground.

One was behind her now. This one took a swing at her and she caught his fist in mid-air. Breaking the bone in pieces, in the strong grip of hers. She used her other arm to punch the guy right in the gut so hard that he went down without another movement of his to try and attack again.

Raido had already taken down the other two, and now Genma and Shikaku were joining.

This all seemed, odd, to Sakura, she just couldn't quite understand why this was happening, why these people were going down so easily.

It was like they were set up to make them believe they were invincible and then someone would rise and kill them with ease because they let their heads get to big, thinking that none of them could touch them.

Sakura could tell that Shikaku knew something was up and he took extra precautions with the one he was currently trying to take out.

It was like these people barely even put up a fight, even the one that became cocky with her once he caught her kunai he went down to the ground, almost, willingly.

The two that Genma and Shikaku were fixed on almost looked like twins, one was a woman and the other a man, they however had a different color hair. But other that they could be identical twins.

They were tan and they bascially wore the exact same outfit, the woman's hair however was white and the man's was a light blue. Their teeth were sharpened the way that reminded her of Zabuza.

The woman ran straight for Genma with a kunai in her hand behind her back and if Genma hadn't moved a fraction of a second more that cutting sound of air would have been replaced with the sound of his neck being slashed open.

The woman quickly moved her hands and performed a hand sign, and suddenly a river of mud came from the right of Genma, it charged at him but he quickly moved up to higher point in a tree.

"Are we going to play cat and mouse all day?" said the woman. Genma looked down from the tree and woman threw up the kunai at him, and he spat out his senbon stopping the kunai from heading straight to his gut.

Genma quickly made hand signs and took a deep breath.

When he opened his mouth gallons of water came from him charging at the woman, the water took the form of a snake with fangs and went towards the woman following her every move until it reached her and swallowed her whole and then created a river that carried her away, carting her past the trunks of trees down away from everyone.

Genma jumped from the tops of trees and followed the current of his man-made river.

Now to the man that Shikaku was facing, he stared at Shikaku with a killing intent that someone could notice from a mile away.

"I hope that young kid is strong." The man said. "Tou, is a very skilled, and I'm sure if your kid there won't last very long." The man said.

So the woman's name was Tou. I mentally forced that name to remember it even though Shikaku had it probably already imprinted into his own brain. Shikaku looked to Raido and Raido nodded back and went off into the direction of Genma and the woman, Tou.

"I'm sure he'll be fine." Shikaku said to the man. "He's not a kid either."

"If I were you though, I'd worry more about yourself and that little girl over there."

"Sakura is not a little girl, I'm sure she could handle herself." Shikaku laughed nervously.

In the blink of an eye the man was already caught in the Nara clan's shadow and the man became confused about the fact that he now couldn't move. He could barely move his fingers and had a confused expression on his face.

Until a face of realization came to him.

"I've heard about this little trap," the man said with a grin. "Shadow Poss-"

"Shadow IMITATION technique, not possession. If you're going to know about a jutsu at least get the name right." Shikaku said with an annoyed tone.

"Yeah, yeah in a few minutes you'll be dead anyway and the name of your jutsu won't even matter." He said.

"How can you be so sure, that I'm going to die."

"Simple. Orochimaru-sama's power is on my side, so there is no way you can beat me, even if you tried." he said mockingly.

"You seem to underestimate me and my teammates quite a lot."

"You're four shinobi from Konoha, going up two of Orochimaru-sama's strongest. You might as well be facing Orochimaru-sama himself. You'd probably have more luck."

It sounded more like he was calling his Orochimaru-sama weaker than he was. Sakura thought he was the oh great and powerful Orochimaru-sama, she silently laughed to herself. So why would they have more luck ending up with the snake himself?

I guess maybe they could be killed quicker. That was her guess.

Suddenly the man that Shikaku had captured in his technique started fighting against the restraint and quickly the shadow that you could see on the ground started to falter. Shikaku didn't seem phased at all by it and seemed to remain calm in the situation.

"Oh? It seems your technique is starting to get a bit weak." He grinned. "To bad, I really was having a nice chat with you." He chuckled at the last part. The shadow them completely went back to Shikaku and the man was now free from the bind of his shadow.

Shikaku remained still staring at the man and thousands of thoughts and plans flew through his giant mind.

The amount of information he took in the distance from here to Konoha, or the nearest village, in case of injury the distance from here to the hideout entrance, the amount of time he was thinking this was going to take, the amount of chakra he had left, paying attention the man's moves, the way his eyes moved, how fast he fired back retorts helped him figure out the amount of time it took for the man to think about something, watching his muscles flex, thinking all the way over to Genma searching for his and Raido's chakra signatures, the woman's signature and paying attention the the amount of chakra Sakura had left in case of a very large injury would come about and then they would have a real problem and she was no good to them if she was passed out on the ground from loss of chakra.

"What you suddenly are so quiet?"

The time, it was around, he would say one and the shadow was moving more and more, and the direction that the wind blew, all went through his head.

For anyone else they would go crazy with the amount of analyzing and thinking that he did in a under a minute. The shadows were his advantage the disadvantage was how much this guy actually knew about his jutsu, the small fight that he presumed would take about ten minutes, given the amount of chakra he had left limited his moves so the moves had to be big ones.

The other thing, the amount of information he did actually know could be extremely bad. The battle that he would think would last minutes would then result into hours and he didn't want that in the slightest.

"Fine, then I will make a move, your loss." The man said and then starting making hand signs.

This man had similar features to the woman, Tou, he believed that those two were brother and sister, so then would his jutsu be similar?

The woman did Earth release and possibly she knew water release, given the sharpened teeth of them he presumed they were from Kirigakure, usually the sharpening of the teeth came along with being skilled with swords, the sharpened teeth had to do with the Seven Ninja Swordmen of the Mist, however he never heard of the name Tou, so they could have been in pursuit of that title and that's the reason they came to Orochimaru, for power to obtain the status. And so Kirigakure is abundant with Water Nature type.

If the man knew Earth Release altered the ground that could help him with the shadows. However he doubted that he spew Earth from his mouth.

He took a breath what would it be water? Fire? Something that even Shikaku wouldn't expect?

The man blew out all the chakra from his mouth that he gathered up and out spewed fire.

He could work with fire.

Instead of the fire coming out in bullets like Shikaku thought would happen it all came out at once and the large fire bullet almost burnt off his head. With the brightness of the fire it even extended the shadows only helping him out in the long run.

Shikaku moved almost two centimeters away from the fire and quickly made a sign taking the offensive, he made a note that the man could use fire and remembered that maybe he could use that against him in the future.

He took the small chance, since the man was still currently spouting fire like a dragon and moved fast directly behind the man, close enough that they were back to back actually. And used the Shadow-Neck Binding Technique. Since he was closer he would have a stronger grip. His shadow moved up the man throat the fire stopped and the man started to choke from the strangulation that Shikaku was now making happen.

* * *

Genma was still up in the trees and Raido was close by a maybe two trees away the deranged woman named Tou was down below looking straight up at him he had a decision to make and unfortunately, it would involve actually fighting the crazy chick.

Damn. This was stupid.

Genma looked down and remembered that Earth was her game, unfortunately due to not being able to use lightning release really bothered him at this moment in time and he cursed his genes.

He had, water and wind.

Two things that could be useful if fighting someone with perhaps fire or lighting. Raido over there was pretty much as useful in chakra release as he was at this moment.

So at this moment you had a guy with water and wind, a guy with fire and water and a poison sword.

And a senbon.

Genma took out another one from his pocket since he left the one he spat out to protect himself from the woman before back when they were with Shikaku and Sakura.

Well, perhaps this woman did more than Earth. Someone maybe even remotely weak against their justu would help and make this a lot shorter than it looks to be now.

Genma made a hand sign and sighed. The fact that there wasn't much water around here really dampened his mood.

He took out a scroll from his flack jacket and summoned up some water and then finished his sand seals that created thousands of water needles, he hid them behind the trees so the woman wouldn't notice yet that he had thousands of water needles or even senbons, if you will, prepared to fire at her.

Genma opened his eyes and leaped down from the trees and went after her with a kunai trying to slice her. And then he finally caught hold of her and held her there for a minute and completed the seals needed for his needles. Summoning them to him.

"Check mate." Genma whispered a whipped out of there as fast as he could so he didn't get caught in the cross fire.

He took deep breaths and refuge behind a tree, he didn't like the fact he had to make his own water and waste chakra.

He looked over to Raido who was now doing some time of jutsu and moving his hands and the speed of light. Genma took a peak at the woman who was now cut in a few places. At least he got her a bit Genma thought to himself, hell, maybe she'll get mad enough and open up just a bit that he'll have a chance to take her off guard.

He looked back to Raido who now just stood there for a bit, not making hand signs and seemed to be even relaxing there, Genma wasn't sure what he was doing but he figured whatever it was seemed to be taking a while.

Well he was such help at this moment.

He felt a lot of chakra coming in his direction really fast. And suddenly a punch went though the tree that he was resting on and went though the clone that he made, at the sudden burst of chakra he felt, the clone was complete wind so when the woman punched though it, the wind starting cutting up the woman's arm.

Genma came out and tried to punch the woman. He collided with her face and she went soaring down into the ground causing the ground to change form and she went down further in the rubble, he now caused, his punch was far more powerful than he expected it to be.

So far this woman was all talk.

Was he hearing things? Or was that the sound of lightning.

Well, damn it all to hell.

At least, lightning is weak against wind, however he wasn't really prepared at the moment.

She came out of the ground and started charging at him her body covered in lighting trying to land punches on him.

Wind! Genma! Wind! he yelled at himself.

He made hand signs while dodging her punches and kicks.

"Still playing cat and mouse?" the woman said. "Aren't you a boring fellow." Fellow? Who used that word anymore?

He finished the hand signs and released three tornadoes of wind. The three went straight towards her and consumed her in wind and cut her up in every place. He took a breath.

And then he was pulled under the damn ground.

This seemed like something Kakashi would set up.

And the fact that Kakashi ended up coming into his mind just annoyed him. To many times did he fall for this dumb trick that was apparently a jutsu.

"Sorry honey." The woman said emerging from the rubble over where he punched her into the ground. "But making all that wind on a clone won't really do much for ya'" He looked up to his gusts of wind and a large clump of what he believed to be mud fell from the sky and thudded on the ground. The woman took a kunai and walked towards Genma.

Ahhh. So a clone in the wind, and a clone in the ground to pull him under, while she took a nice relax in the rubble.

He was in the ground and he couldn't move.

Fucking great.

* * *

The man was still choking and Shikaku tightened the grip he had on him. Was this easy or was he just imagining things? He seriously thought this was going to be harder.

Didn't this man just say that he was a really difficult opponent? Maybe it was just pretend to be something you're not day and the notice escaped Shikaku's mind, which was highly unlikely.

When the gasps of air stopped he released his grip and the man felt limp in Shikaku's shadow grip. The limp body dropped to the ground. Took less than ten minutes. Hm. Maybe he was off somewhere? The man's intelligence maybe? Perhaps that was it.

And then Shikaku was on the ground. Being held down by his throat.

What the hell is this shit?

Where did he come from? The air? It was a ridiculous answer, and he knew that, and it was also highly unlikely. This man was starting to frustrate Shikaku. Not only did he have him by the neck but he was pretty sure he had some type of technique that canceled out his chakra because he felt incredibly weak.

"I'm not that easy." The man sneered. Pity. He felt someone. The chakra was big too. He felt it before maybe once, even twice.

And then it hit him.

"SAKURA!" Shikau yelled from being currently strangled.

How ironic.

A chill came from over in the trees and a laugh followed with it.

"Sakura… It's been too long."

* * *

The woman coughed up blood that landed before Genma and the long black blade that was through her stomach didn't help her situation.

"Sorry, I was concealing my chakra so she couldn't sense me from behind. Took longer than I thought." Raido said from behind the woman that was bleeding profusely.

"As long as I'm not dead, I guess I'll let it slide." Genma said, he happened to be still in the ground.

The woman took her hands and tried to force the sword out of her cutting up her hands in the process.

"That won't help my sword is covered in poison, even the slightest cut will kill." Raido said. As he took the sword from her body and then she dropped to the ground wincing from the pain.

"Fuck you." She managed to say out loud to Raido. This was ignored by both of them.

"How do you suppose I get out from the ground?" Genma said.

"Not sure." Raido said. "I'll be back." Raido said with a straight face and walked away and into the trees back in the direction he came from.

"HEY!" ….. "HEY! COME BACK!"… "OI! RAIDO. HEY! THIS ISN'T FUNNY!"

* * *

_I'd like to apologize for not being able to write action scenes. I'm not to good at it and it isn't in my skills._

_I don't know Genma's and Raido's chakra nature, neither does Narutopedia, so I took a good look at Genma's face and decided he looked like a water guy. He looked like a wind guy too, so that was settled as for Raido. Pulled those natures out of my ass, and his sword is real. It's name starts with a K. Seriously I surprised there was even information on him at all._

_The fact that this chapter is really goes through the fights really fast and is short. It's more because I hate writing action scenes. Again I apologize, in this story there are only like three or four chapters where there is action, so just live through those painful chapters and it'll be okay!_

_If I get reviews that say I'm really good at making action scenes. I might...die of shock..._

_PLEASE REVIEW! I LOVE OPINIONS! SERIOUSLY I LOVE GETTING REVIEWS THEY BRING A SMILE TO MY FACE!_

_Chapter 3- June 28th._


	3. Chapter 3

**_So yeah, last chapter, I'm really just sorry. I won't say anything more._**

_The good news is, I **updated** it, so I went back and fixed all that. Figured I had to get to it sooner or later._

_If you already read the terrible chapter before the update I decided to give you a summary of the last chapter so everything will make a lot more sense. But first,_

**The trees. I read that, and it was the first sentence, mind you,and I'm like just kill me, I deserve to be arrested. (puts up wrists ready to be handcuffed) it's not really important but the mistake was so bad I just have to address it. Raido and Sakura were in one tree and Shikaku and Genma were in the tree behind them. You probably don't even remember said mistake. But that's okay because I addressed it. I feel much better.**

* * *

**_Impromptu Summary of last chapter:_**

_The team of Sakura, Genma, and Raido, with team captain Shikaku took out all the shinobi except the ones with the two they believed were going to be the strongest. They took out the easier ones and then planned on taking out the other two. The woman's name is Tou, and I never mentioned the man's, but his name is Dou, so yes they are twins. (haha get it cause their names sound alike, I never call Dou by his name, not sure why I just couldn't really find a spot were his name could be revealed without it being really just, it just, yeah) It was revealed that their teeth are sharp (like Zabuza, Suigetsu) so Shikaku figured out that they were from the Village Hidden in the Mist because sharpened teeth is associated with the Seven Ninja Swordsmen (I thought that was fascinating, I never put those together thank you Narutopedia, and by the way I for some reason didn't even write this in the last chapter, don't worry you're not crazy it's just my stupidity) Genma and Raido went against the woman and Shikaku went against the man, (all I could say for Sakura, she stood there pretty much it) The woman was defeated by Raido because Genma got stuck in the ground. (yeah, the ground, jonin elite ninja, stuck in the ground) And Shikaku thought he had the man handled but the guy did some sort of transportation jutsu (not like Minato's, a different one, it's much much much much much slower, I just rewatched the clip of Minato for information, Dou's transportation much slower, that needs to be stressed, not for the fact that this guy is on the same level as Minato (which he's not) it just has to do with the plot) And then I kinda left two cliff hangers,... that person,... (it will remain a cliff hanger, I'm not gonna spurt out their name in the summary, geez don't get to excited) showed up at Sakura and Shikaku's fight (cough cough Shikaku's fight). And Genma's stuck in the ground. Still. (because Raido awkwardly just left him there, felt like the right thing to do at the time)_

* * *

_SO I leave this chapter with questions_

_Who is the person that showed up?_

_Will Shikaku die?_

_Is the woman Raido killed actually dead?_

_Will Sakura die?_

_Will Dou die?_

_Are these questions here just for suspense purposes, cause I'm just that kind of person? Hm._

_And will Genma ever get out of the ground?_

* * *

Chapter 3

"Sakura, go and find Genma and Raido, their battle is over, I don't feel their chakra escalating anymore, go and bring them back! I'll handle it until you come back!" Shikaku yelled from the ground.

The man that he was fighting against before forced his palm down harder on Shikaku's neck and he choked. The man pulled out a kunai and took it to Shikaku's throat.

"Be quiet." The man hissed.

Sakura, for one second, thought about listening to him. For the split second the kunai went to Shikaku's throat she really thought about leaving him to go and get Genma and Raido, that ran off in pursuit of that woman.

But then the thought left her mind after she called herself an idiot for even thinking about it.

She wouldn't dare leave Shikaku and come back to find him dead. She would never forgive herself especially considering that it was her friend's father. If they were done their battle like Shikaku said, they were they were probably already on their way.

"Sakura! Go!" Shikaku yelled louder and sounded angry and annoyed that she wasn't listening to him. Sakura didn't answer him, or move a muscle she wasn't about to be that girl who needed to be protected and run away when danger was there. She wasn't that person anymore and she wasn't about to go back to doing that. And that was a fact.

She took a moment to think about all the things that could happen if she stayed and fought. Death was the first thing that came to her mind.

"So would you like to tell me why you are here?" was the hiss that came out the man that appeared before that one that came out from the trees and into the opening. Orochimaru.

Sakura and Shikaku just stared at Orochimaru. Well one thing is for certain, he was indeed actually here and this was his hideout. With Orochimaru here Sasuke mustn't be too far away.

"Sakura, this is an order, go!" Shikaku said. Out of all the things going through Sakura's head the one thing that stood out at this moment, was the first rule she was ever taught as a genin.

_In the ninja world those who break the rules are regarded as scum, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than scum._

She wasn't about to break the rule she learned her first day, taught to her by her very own sensei, and then come back and would have to bring back Shikaku in a body bag. But of course she wasn't particularly fond of the idea of her coming back in a body bag either.

Instead, she pulled out a kunai, not the best thing she could do, but it could be used as stalling for time for Raido and Genma to get here.

* * *

"Raido." Genma sneered. Genma was wiping the dirt of from his pants. "That wasn't funny."

"I came back didn't I?" Raido said. "I did tell you I was coming back."

"You were going to leave me in the ground weren't you!?"

"I thought about it." Raido said simply.

"Geez, really, I thought we were a team." Genma said stretching and cracking his back.

"There are other two members of this team you know."

"Tch. That doesn't mean you just leave me buried chin deep in the ground!"

"They could be in trouble, we should go."

"Well, what are we standing around here for?!" Genma raged.

"I would've been there already if you weren't screaming and complaining." Raido said annoyed.

"I was buried to my chin in the ground… You could have got me out before you starting walking away, not walk away and then come back ten minutes later."

"I went to go check on Shikaku and Sakura."

"Whatever, so they have the situation under control?" Genma asked as they started walking towards the others and then hopped into the trees.

"Shikaku has the enemy captured, they should be finished."

But of course when the two would arrive they would learn that Raido was completely and absolutely wrong.

* * *

"Sakura, I thought I ordered you to go!" Shikaku yelled from the ground.

Sakura went ahead with the kunai and went straight towards Orochimaru ready to swipe him with it at any time.

"How ignorant won't even answer my questions before you come at me, and you showed up here unannounced as well."

Sakura went straight for his neck, but Orochimaru bent backwards and took the liberty of grabbing her wrist and threw her straight into a tree.

"How boring." He stated simply.

Sakura had been completely wrecked, her back was in complete pain. She rose from the ground and left the kunai that escaped her grasp lay there on the ground.

"Well, at least you're determined." Orochimaru said to her when she got up.

"SAKURA, GO!" Was it her or was he getting annoying, obviously she wasn't leaving anytime soon.

The man that was on top of him clearly thought the same thing and took the kunai to his throat again.

"Not another word." He said and plunged the kunai right into Shikaku's leg. The motion was fast, Sakura didn't even realize that he had taken the kuani away from his throat.

Shikaku was madder at himself than he was Sakura, after looking into everything and being so observant, he was taken off guard, the man that was currently on top of him came out of nowhere, and then he never even felt Orochimaru's chakra. He would somehow come to the conclusion that this was his fault sometime later.

Especially the amount of grief he would give himself if Shikamaru's friend came back, well, not as alive as she was when she left.

"Shikaku, I know that you ordered me to go," Shikaku's eyes darted over to Sakura who was still standing near the tree she crashed into. "but unfortunately that doesn't agree with the rules I live by."

Sakura felt like the words were hard to get out. She was the one that would step back and let others handle when it came close to death. She evaded danger and made sure wasn't in any danger, before she even thought about her teammates, she found refuge for herself. This was all before she took a good look at herself and realized that she would never be satisfied or feel safe unless she did something about it.

But now, that wasn't her.

Shikaku scoffed at the words she said, so this would separate her from life and death, these rules she lives by.

"Not any longer will I stand by and watch others handle things. You said it yourself, I'm not weak." Sakura said with a grin. She moved quickly towards Orochimaru sending chakra to her feet to speed up and chakra to both of her fists, for extra measure.

Sakura took a swing at Orochimaru's face and he missed contact by a hair but felt the chakra come from her fist. Sakura then quickly took action and went for his stomach. Missing again.

"Tsunade taught you well, but unfortunately it's not enough for you."

"Shut up." Sakura said and then sent a kick at Orochimaru's neck. And landed not a full blow but enough to send him flying back some feet.

Dirt and dust flew up from the place Orochimaru landed. In all honesty Sakura was surprised and not even convinced that she had even managed to kick him. He went to dodge but she noticed at the last minute and sped up her kick.

She didn't let her eyes leave the spot Orochimaru landed making sure she observed so he wouldn't come up and surprise her.

A cold and menacing sound came from the dust pile where he was, was he laughing?

And indeed Orochimaru was, in fact, laughing.

"Very good." Orochimaru said. "My turn." He whispered loud enough for her to hear.

Shooting out from the dust and dirt, they came flying, what were they? Snakes. _Of course_ Sakura thought.

The snakes opened their mouths and came hurdling at her, and what she was expecting was them to start trying to lock their fangs into her, out came blades from their mouth. How fortunate.

The snakes came at her fast, each one trying to take a stab at her and she dodged each and every one that came at her with their blades. She managed to evade them and make a run toward Orochimaru while hopping and avoiding the snakes at all costs.

She supplied chakra to her fist and was going to hit him right in the face, a short foot from where he was she sent chakra flying to her feet speeding up at the last minute making it almost impossible for him to dodge. And landed a punch right on him flat.

This time he was the one that crashed into the tree.

Sakura panted heavily, the chakra she continuously used was now taking a toll on her.

"It seems, Sakura-chan, you have improved quite well, after our last encounter that is, actually all the encounters we've had it seems that you didn't even try and fight me." Orochimaru sneered. "You cowered in fear behind Sasuke-kun in the forest, and most recently you sustained and injury not from me, but from a teammate."

Sakura got irritated with the comments he was making. Although deep down she knew that he was right. She did nothing on both lovely encounters with him. So she couldn't even say anything about it to defend herself. She calmed herself down and tried to not let the anger get the best of her.

"You say you've changed Sakura-chan but really, nothing at all has changed." Orochimaru said. "Take a look, you still can't do anything, even now, really all you've managed to do it kick and land a punch. Nothing more." He paused and sighed sarcastically, it sounded like he pitied her. "And unfortunate for you, you seem to be almost out of chakra." He grinned.

And the blow landed right to her. He was absolutely correct in every way.

"Sorry Sakura, but I just don't see it." He said still with the grin on his face.

"Shut up!" Sakura lost her cool, she went forward and kicked, punched, swung, and clawed at him with everything she had. They were going at each other fast and every time she tried to land a hit he successfully dodged, every hit he attempted to land she successfully dodged.

Their bodies flying at each other at every chance they got.

And then Orochimaru landed the first hit right into Sakura's gut. She went back and winced from the uncomfortable pain that now resided there. She gasped for air from the hit.

She wasn't done.

She charged at him with another kunai she pulled out and, jumping in the air first and managing to elude a kick he was sending her way. As she was flying over him she gracefully spun in the air and the kunai went straight for his back.

Only to be caught when he turned around.

Sakura grinned. And she landed a punched right into Orochimaru's jaw, almost breaking it, if she had more chakra, it would have been shattered. He was sent flying back.

The look on the man's face that had Shikaku pinned was priceless. Shikaku grinned and chuckled.

Flying Thunder God Technique.

Sakura grinned with satisfaction as Orochimaru landed into another tree.

The atmosphere however suddenly changed into something else, Sakura was thinking that the feeling she would get would be more, good feeling. She managed to trick him, of course sending in a kunai that she had placed a transportation formula on, of course she knew he was going to catch it, that was the point, when caught she transported right to the kunai. It was smart and it worked too.

So why was this feeling very eerie?

* * *

"Another loud boom? And with it a tree knocked down?" Genma said frantically.

"It seems the fight had progressed more than I thought."

"You think? They are wrecking the forest, a lot, how do you call that having everything under control?!" Genma said sneering. And they picked up the pace.

* * *

Sakura screamed from the pain that was now being inflicted into the back of her neck. She screamed her head off from the burning and stinging that was running through her veins. What was this?

Shikaku, eyes widened looked more in shock than in worry and he tried to kick the man off of him to go to the aid of Sakura but the man kept him down and the kunai in his leg was not helping the situation.

Shikaku managed to send his knee right into the man's gut and send him right to the ground doubled over in pain. Shikaku sustained many bruises from fighting the man from the ground but it was worth it.

Sakura shouted in pain again and when Orochimaru withdrew from his attack he grinned and laughed with joy.

"How interesting…. The Flying Thunder God Technique, something that I could use and would make be a very happy man to acquire." Orochimaru said to himself.

"What did you do to her?!" Shikaku yelled.

"Like Sasuke-kun, I gave her a parting gift." He said chuckling and then he started to seep into the ground. "She knows what she wants, even if she doesn't admit it."

And then he was gone and the man that Shikaku kneed was now seeping in the ground as well with a frightening grin.

Sakura was left in the arms of Shikaku, doubled over in pain, gripping his flak jacket, and twitching from the burning in her veins.

On the back of her neck, Shikaku spotted a mark.

Mitsudomoe.

* * *

_Mitsudomoe is what they call the design of the Curse Mark (Sasuke's specifically)_

_Which are tomoe, mitsudomoe are three tomoe._

_I actually worked suprisingly well with this chapter, the action parts weren't that difficult to write and it was actually kind of exciting to finally get to this point. _

_I really like writing Genma's and Raido's relationship, mostly because Genma seems more laid back and...whimsical and Raido seems more like Neji, people that don't really joke, or laugh, or have many emotions. Very much fun._

_It's fun writing Shikaku too. It's cool kind of putting a little twist on him since he's not in Naruto enough to get clear grip on his personalty. He is like Shikamaru with all his intellegence and most likely lazy as well, but he seems to be more... motivated... and looks like he could be a funny guy. _

_Next Chapter will be July 5th, a Friday like usual, however it will be uploaded pretty late, so it might turn into Saturday morning and by morning I mean like midnight-1am. Next Week I'll be really busy so. But I looked and next chapter is actually a short one! So fingers crossed._

_*July 19th's chapter will be uploaded July 18th*_

_*July 26th's chapter will be uploaded July 27th*_

_After that it's Fridays like normal. I will be gone for that entire week on vacation so I will not be taking my computer or anything with me. :( Missing a Naruto episode and by then we should be out of this GOD DAMN LONG FILLER ARC._


	4. Chapter 4

I know this chapter is kind of short. But I really didn't want to go past that point in the story.

Whew! At least it's done.

This chapter I felt was difficult to write because everything went so fast, but if I slowed it down it just would be boring and just... just broing. Next chapter I know will be short but after that the chapters will be longer!

Sorry it took so long to update! I was gone all day!

_Sakura's hallucinations are italic_

* * *

Chapter 4

* * *

Sakura was still wincing from the pain. Clenching Shikaku's flak jacket from the pain she was experiencing.

Orochimaru and the other man had left. Leaving Sakura and Shikaku there alone.

And now Shikaku was waiting for Genma and Raido to come back. Why was it taking them so long? He felt their chakra getting closer but they should've been here by now. Did he make a mistake when he calculated their distance away. God, he was getting old. But aren't you supposed to get wiser as you get older? Oh well, whatever.

He knew he had to get her back to the Leaf, he thought that maybe Tsunade would be able to calm her down from whatever pain she was in.

If he remembered correctly it was the same mark Uchiha Sasuke was given during the chunin exams.

But something about the mark was off. It looked the same but at the same time it didn't look the same. He knew that is was a ridiculous thought how could two things be the same but not the same. It was really bugging him that he couldn't think of what was so different. It was on the tip of his tongue but it wouldn't come off.

He couldn't put his finger on it., and it was pissing him off.

* * *

Genma and Raido arrived two minutes later and Genma hopped down from the tree wanting to know what happened to Sakura and then said she looked like she had the plague. Shikaku ignored this description. But Shikaku told him he would tell him on the way but he needed to summon something to get them back to the village pronto.

Genma bit his thumb and performed the summoning jutsu.

He summoned a very, very large pelican. "Yo." It said when the smoke revealed a giant pelican with a cigar in its mouth.

"Akiyoshi!" Genma said happily. "Can you take us back to the village?" he asked it.

"No problem!" the giant bird spoke.

The pelican opened it's large beak, and spit out the cigar, which landed to the ground with a thud, and Genma climbed in.

"You're kidding right?" Raido said jumping down from the tree.

"Listen, if we're in his beak he could fly faster, then he won't have to worry that we might fall off."

"I'm not sure how I feel about this." Raido said. He wasn't too fond about setting foot in a bird's mouth.

"Will you just get in!" Genma yelled at him from the bird's beak.

Shikaku sighed and did as Genma did climbing into the bird's mouth with Sakura in his arms. And Raido followed behind accepting the fact he was going to be inside a bird's mouth for a good hour. Even though he really didn't want to.

The bird closed it's beak and it became pitch dark and the smell from the cigar was pungent. They felt the bird rise from the ground and then after that the were flying...fast.

"Akiyoshi is the fastest of the pelicans. Since we're in his beak he could fly almost at the speed of The Flying Thunder God." Genma told them in the pitch darkness.

* * *

_She opened her mouth to say something but no words came out. Nothing. Not even a whisper._

_She opened her eyes, at least she could see something but everything was blurred. Was she under water? That's at least what it looked like.  
_

_Suddenly water went into her nose and she was falling deeper and deeper. She was drowning._

_She mouthed the words help, but no sound came out._

_She was going deeper and deeper._

_She tried to swim up but couldn't she was stuck and it was like something was pulling her further and further down._

_She saw something in the corner of her eye and she looked over to the side._

_Naruto? She wondered._

_It was in fact Naruto he was falling too. But faster than she was. His eyes were closed and he was trying so hard to hold his breath but was slowly losing it._

_He started coughing pulling in water into his throat and to his lungs._

_Before someone drowns, as a reflex their body forces them to breath._

_But all they breath in is water._

_And then they slowly fade into the darkness of death.  
_

_Naruto's fighting ceased and he fell faster and faster to the bottom._

_She watched in horror as he died right before her eyes. She tried to swim to him but she couldn't move. And Naruto was getting further and further away._

_Naruto! She thought. She was watching him die and it was killing her that she couldn't do anything._

_To the other side there was someone else._

_Sasuke…_

_He was falling fast, maybe even faster than Naruto._

_When he coughed though, he coughed up blood and he took in the water, the final reflex, that killed him and he sank to the bottom, just like Naruto._

_Tears came to her eyes and she realized she could do nothing._

_Anything she did wouldn't even come close to helping them._

_Kakashi-Sensei._

_No. She couldn't watch she couldn't but when she closed her eyes she still watched as her Sensei dropped to the bottom of the water._

_No!_

_But she was still alive? Why? She was falling so slowly. She should be dead!_

* * *

"She keeps squirming." Shikaku stated.

"Well what happened?" Genma asked.

They were still in the dark of the bird's mouth and unfortunately the smell of the cigar did not go away.

"Orochimaru gave her the cursed seal. I think it's the same as Anko's and the Uchiha's. But somethings different about it." He told them. "It's on the tip of my tongue but I just can't…think…what it is."

"That's new." Genma joked at the fact _the_ Shikaku couldn't remember something.

Shikaku glared at him but of Genma didn't see him glare from being consumed in darkness.

"Do you think she'll be okay?" Raido asked.

"If I remember correctly didn't this curse mark have a low survival rate?" Genma said worriedly.

"Yeah." Shikaku said.

"Anko and Sasuke are the only ones with it, meaning those two are the only ones who survived the Cursed Seal of Heaven." Raido included his thoughts.

"So there's a possibly that she'll die?" Genma asked. "Can Tsunade even help her?"

"I don't know. But there's no harm in rushing her to Tsunade. If she can help maybe Sakura will have a better chance of surviving." Shikaku said.

"Maybe she could even get rid of the mark.." Genma suggested.

"If she could she would've removed Anko's and Sasuke's long ago."

"Haha…right." he laughed nervously. And then cursed himself for not thinking and being stupid.

"How long till we reach the village?" Raido asked.

"I dunno, wait… I'll ask!" Genma said. "Oi! Akiyoshi! How far are we away from the village!"

"I can make it there in five minutes, Genma-san." A voice same from the darkness. Covering the four in a little bit of spit from the pelican when he spoke.

"I hate you." Raido sneered to Genma.

* * *

_Everything was white. And everything was so completely bright. Like the sun was shining but the sun wasn't in view or she couldn't even see it because of how bright the light was._

_No doors._

_No windows._

_Sakura looked around the room she was stuck in._

_No one._

_But all of a sudden a ear shattering scream pierced her ears. Whoever they were they were screaming bloody murder._

_Maybe she could save whoever was screaming she thought._

_She looked around but there still wasn't anyone around._

_"Where are you!?" she yelled into the small white room. It was just her and the white room she didn't understand. The person kept screaming and screaming and it was starting to get to her. She wasn't going to find them. Whoever they were they she assumed weren't planning on being found. There was nothing to hide behind, underneath, no where, it was just an open white space._

_What on earth was going on?_

_She looked around more, now frantically, for the person who owned the scream, still no one in sight._

_Another scream came, filled with agony._

_"SAKAUURA!" the scream changed to her name but she still couldn't find them. She was going insane. This person needed her but she couldn't find them, couldn't do anything to protect them, even save their life. When she closed her eyes she saw pictures of Sasuke and Naruto and even her other friends fighting and getting hurt terribly while she just stood there._

_Her hands came up to her ears to block out the screaming._

_She saw them all get slashed with kunai causing blood to splatter everywhere. She felt like the blood was covering her. She even felt the liquid on her skin. She watched them all take their last breath before they died slowly and painfully._

_She was going to let this person die all because she couldn't find them, couldn't do anything! She never could do anything! She could never reach the two on her team or her Sensei. The person screaming might as well be one of them, she couldn't save them, couldn't be strong like them, she couldn't do anything._

_And eventually she would watch them one by one die. As she did nothing. _

_That's what she now thought._

* * *

"What?"

"Her and Orochimaru fought and he bit her, giving her the cursed seal." Shikaku explained to Tsunade in the hospital.

Tsunade now had a cool cloth on Sakura's forehead trying to help her with the sweating. She laid in the bed covered in white sheets and a mask on her helping her breath in oxygen. She was evem hooked up the heart monitor and the beeping was driving Shikaku insane.

"Why would he do that?" she yelled. She was pissed, beyond pissed. She then left the room that was given to Sakura to recuperate. And now the two of them were walking down the hall.

"I think he saw something he liked in her, I have in mind that after he uses Sasuke's body he will use hers."

"Why on Earth would he need hers? What exactly did he like that she had and he needed?"

"The Flying Thunder God Technique." Shikaku said simply. "It makes sense. It was the last thing she used before he gave her it. And it wouldn't fit in his schedule to actually learn that jutsu by himself. But if he gets a hold of that jutsu by transferring bodies, since Sakura's is already equiped with being able to learn the jutsu it'll come easy to him from Sakura's muscle memory, no one will be able to stop him."

"He won't get his hands on Sakura. But what makes you think he will?"

"I'm just saying metaphorically. I know that Sakura would never think about leaving the village and doing what Sasuke did, but think about it, Orochimaru must know that Sakura is loyal to Konoha too, what if he did something to her other than the curse mark to betray us?"

"Like what? If it's a genjutsu he has her stuck in, then it won't work. Sakura is excellent at genjutsu, a natural even, it won't work on her."

"He expects it to." Shikaku said.

"Can I talk to you, privately about something, not here though." he asked out the blue.

Tsunade stared him down but then agreed to meet him in a hour in her office.

* * *

"Did you hear Sakura was back?" Shikamaru asked Naruto.

"Huh? No. Why didn't she come see me or something? Is she mad at me?"

"No idiot. Why would she be mad at you? She's bee on a mission…. Never mind, my dad got home last night and told me Sakura is in the hospital but no one is allowed to see her."

"WHAT?"

"Sh! He told me not to tell anyone but I thought you should know."

"Why won't granny let anyone in?"

"I don't know when I asked he just looked at me and mumbled something under his breath and walked away."

"Do you want to bust into her room?"

"Ugh, no that's too troublesome, we should just wait till Tsunade lets us in." Shikamaru said. "Besides, maybe she's actually really hurt, and needs rest."

"Tch. Fine!" Naruto pouted. "Can we at least try and get an answer out of Tsunade about how hurt she is?"

"I suppose that won't be a bad idea."

"What won't be a bad idea?" Ino voiced in. she just walked into the small restaurant it was the same one where Sakura was asked to leave with the ANBU for the mission.

"Going to ask granny about Sakura."

"Why would you need to ask about Sakura?" Ino asked confused.

"She was apparently hurt on the mission she went on with my dad, my dad didn't answer me when I asked so we were going to go to Tsunade."

"Oh! I'll come too!" Ino said excitedly. "But why don't you just go visit her?"

"Geez, you're so troublesome, we already thought of that but they won't let anyone in to see her."

"Oh."

The three left the restaurant and headed for Tsunade's office they took a slow walk since they really didn't have to rush.

When they finally got there Naruto ran up to her office and kicked down the door.

"Why won't you let anyone to see Sakura!?" Naruto yelled barging into the office.

"Naruto! You can't just barge in there!" Ino scolded him, after she caught up with him.

"Because she is hurt and needs to rest." Tsunade answered him. In truth she heard about what happened when Sasuke woke from the unconscious state during the chunin exams and figured it would be much better having no one in there until she woke and they made sure she wasn't going to kill anyone.

"Can't we at least hover over her? To see that she's okay?" Naruto asked.

He was really pushing her buttons today.

"No. she needs to be alone to rest." She really didn't want anyone seeing the curse mark until Sakura was awake. It would be better to have her aware of the mark than to explain it to everyone else before she even knew herself.

"Please Granny!"

"Naruto!" Tsunade yelled rising from her seat. "I told you twice no, now get out. I have work to do." Not to mention Shikaku would be arriving soon.

Naruto looked in shock by the reaction he got out of Tsunade and the three walked out of her office in defeat.

A few minutes later Naruto, Ino and Shikamaru sat in the hospital waiting room. It was Naruto's idea to protest and not leave until he saw Sakura.

Shikamaru was dragged there by Ino, he really didn't have a problem with just waiting until Tsunade cleared them to go in and see her.

"If Tsunade finds out we're here I'm blaming it all on you and saying you dragged us here against our will." Shikamaru stated towards Naruto.

"Hmph."

"Maybe we should go home Naruto. Tsunade's right she needs her rest, sitting at home would be same thing we're doing now." Ino told him.

"She's right. No sense sitting the hospital waiting room, they won't let us in."

"Finnnneee." Naruto pouted and then the three left the hospital. They planned on going to Ichiraku and enjoy some ramen to pass the time.

* * *

_"You say you've changed Sakura-chan but really, nothing at all has changed." Orochimaru said. "Take a look, you still can't do anything, even now, really all you've managed to do it kick and land a punch. Nothing more." He paused and sighed sarcastically, it sounded like he pitied her. "And unfortunate for you, you seem to be almost out of chakra." He grinned._

_"You haven't changed... at all."_

_The words kept going around and around and around in her head. Like this memory was set on repeat._

_"You cowered in fear behind Sasuke-kun in the forest, and most recently you sustained and injury not from me, but from a teammate."_

_Everything he said. All of it true and she knew that now. She was completely useless. She deserved to just die right now._

_"Tsunade taught you well, but unfortunately it's not enough for you."_

_Hit hurt to know the truth, but maybe that's what she needed._

_Huh?_

_Now she was in a dark black room, facing Orochimaru._

_"I can give you power, make you better, so you'd be able to finally prove yourself to everyone."_

_I didn't answer him I just stared at him, not even sure what to say._

_"Sakura...I can make you powerful." he said with a laugh. "But right now all you are is useless. You can't do anything." he laughed harder now._  
_"I can change you for real this time. You have so much potential. All you have to do is come to me."_

_My chest started to hurt. And I winced from the sudden pain that went through me._

_"You will soon feel the power that I can give you!"_

_Energy started flowing through her veins she suddenly felt so alive, so awake. What was this? Was this how Sasuke felt?_

_"Just imagine what you can do!"_

_The curse mark started to sting._

_"You know where to find me... Sakura." he said and then disappeared in the black._

_And then everything felt so great, like she was on the top of the world. Like everything will come so easy to her now._

_And she liked it._

* * *

Shikaku arrived at Tsunade's office a couple minutes late and knocked on the door. He took a deep breath before entering. When he entered Tsunade waved Shizune to leave the room.

"You wanted to talk?" she asked.

"Yes."

"Well? What is it?"

Shikaku took a moment for the past hour he ran through every part of the plan he made, every single possibility. Every little thing he thought of. It made him nervous though. But he knew the plan would work. He just didn't like the amount of people he was about hurt by going through with this plan. But it was perfect. A great plan actually. And he knew it. He now had the chance to take action he couldn't pass it up.

"I have an idea." he said. "But you're not going to like it."

* * *

Please Review!

I love your opinions!

Say anything!

Anything at all!

Chapter 5 will be posted Friday the 12th!


	5. Chapter 5

_I expected this chapter to be smaller but when I finished what I initially thought would be the chapter it wasn't even 2,000 words. And I was all like, I need to think of something fast!_

_Whew!_

_But it's done._

_I started reading a fanfic and I noticed something I haven't done._

_Disclaimer. And I'm like shiiiiitttt. So I'll start now. I do not own Naruto_

_In case you didn't know that already without the disclaimer._

* * *

_Sakura's dream/hallucination is in italics_

**Orochimaru's voice in her head is bold**

Just to clarify, making it now in first person (Sakura's p.o.v.) is not a mistake from her on out it will be first person, but when I jump to different characters it will be third. Sakura will be the only one in first. Just so you don't think wow she really fucked up this chapter.

* * *

Chapter 5

* * *

I woke to the sound of birds outside my window, and the brightness entered the room from the sun.

I panicked a bit when I woke up thinking I was back in that white room and I was about to experience the screaming again.

The dreams or maybe hallucinations I had changed how I thought about things. Was this what happened to Sasuke, how he changed drastically right after the curse mark.

He became colder and refused other people's help more often. And became even more obsessed with power.

Was I going to change into that? I asked myself and then the pain began.

I gripped the back of my neck and doubled over in pain. And I bit my lip to force herself not to yell out.

The pain was intense. It was like a knife slowly entering you and it stung and burned all at the same time. It was trying to force itself to grow, to move all over my body like it did Sasuke when he woke up years ago.

I was still in pain five minutes later when Tsunade came in. But I was actually getting used to the pain. It became dull but it was still there and the back of my neck was beginning to get numb.

"So I assume you know about the curse mark? You know what happened?"

"Yes." I told my teacher. My voice shook from being in pain.

"First let me explain something. You have a mark like Sasuke's." she began. "However, Shikaku got me curious. He told me that the mark looked like Sasuke's but at the same time it didn't. So I pulled out a file that I had on Sasuke, which I took a picture of the mark. Sasuke's mark is in fact a little different from yours."

"I know, there are different marks, when they got back from the mission to retrieve Sasuke all the people they faced had different ones."

"Yes. But yours and Sasuke's have the same design you both have mitsudomoe however, Sasuke's design goes to the right, yours goes to the left." Tsunade explained.

"So it's a different mark?"

"Yes." Tsunade said. "Though we don't have any information on it at all."

I nodded. I already knew there wasn't going to be much on the mark. "How l long have I been asleep?"

"Three days... but today I'll let you rest some more and then you can see your friends." Tsunade told her. "Naruto has been driving me up a wall."

Tsunade then left the room and I laid down in the bed. And I took a deep breath trying to calm myself down. Talking to Tsunade made me angry. I had no reason to be angry with Tsunade, what was there even to mad about? The lack of information on the curse mark? That wasn't her fault.

Or was it not being able to see her friends?

Both?

I hated this, I was so frustrated but I didn't have the slightest clue why. I took in another breath and closed her eyes.

When my eyes were closed all there was, was darkness and it soothed me a bit. Until I saws flashes and scenes of the people I loved and cared about die before my eyes and I saw the blood just like before.

My eyes snapped open and I was up sitting up now instead of laying down. It was freaking me out. I wanted the visions stop.

I took another deep breath to cool myself down. Exhaling slowly.

I was a little tired and wanted sleep but I knew if I closed her eyes again I was going to see the frightening images like I just did.

I had to get over this so I would be able to be normal around Naruto and everyone. So I closed my eyes again this time while I was sitting up.

Instead of opening my eyes, I watched the scenes play in my head. Brainwash me even more and then they stopped just like that and the mark began to burn a little.

I decided I could deal with the burning instead of the images of my friend's deaths in my head.

I laid down on the bed and then slowly fell asleep.

* * *

Three days ago…

* * *

"I've got a plan." Shikaku stated. "But you're not going to like it."

"A plan of yours? Why wouldn't I like it?" Tsunade asked.

"It can result to death, not to mention a lot of political problems, many people will be upset, and you will lose one of your best shinobi."

"And what would happen if this mission works?" Tsunade asked. "What would I benefit from all of that?"

"The deaths of many criminals, including a big name that everyone wants dead, information on anything you could possibly imagine, and the possible return of a certain shinobi to the village."

"And your plan is?"

* * *

Present time

* * *

I woke up from my slumber and glanced at the clock I'd been asleep for two hours. And it was now getting close to nighttime. I didn't want to be in this damn hospital anymore.

I was calmed down now from whatever had gotten me all worked up. But the burning was still present.

I got up from the bed and walked towards the window. The lights of the village were faint but as the sky started to grow darker they became more apparent.

I looked over to the opposite side of her bed, over to the other side of the room. I was given one of the bigger, private rooms. It had two couches. A large television, and a coffee table set up with a vase of purple flowers and a bowl of peanuts set up for guests. I looked over to the couch and saw that Tsunade had brought my clothes I would wear to walk around the village in when I was off of work or working the hospital as a volunteer.

I changed into those clothes instead of walking around in the hospital gown that was annoying me to no end.

Much more comfy I thought. After I changed into those clothes.

I went back to the window and looked out.

What I wouldn't give to see a friend right now. Just to help me with realizing that they were alive and the whole thing was fake, those damn hallucinations were starting to make me go crazy. I knew in the back of my head that they were okay but I still couldn't fight the urgent feeling that they were in fact all dead and people were trying to be delicate with me because of the mark.

The visions were starting to mix with reality.

I wanted someone, anyone, even if it was Kakashi-Sensei, since that way he'd be able to stop me if she went off like Sasuke did when he woke with the mark, nearly killing those ninja from the Sound.

I needed someone that I watched die before her eyes here. Anyone.

* * *

Three days ago…

* * *

"ARE YOU CRAZY?!" Tsunade said rising from her desk yelling.

"It's a brilliant plan. You know it!"

"It's way too dangerous!"

"Are you mad because this plan uses Sakura? And that most likely this won't end very well for her?"

* * *

Present day…

* * *

Tsunade sat in her office. Skimming through files and was going to write up a new file on the mission Shikaku had told her about.

She couldn't pass up the mission, he was right she let her personal feelings get in the way.

She took out a mission write up form from a drawer.

In the first box, labeled Shinobi, she wrote down the name. _Haruno Sakura._

The next was rank. She stared at the words that labeled the box. She took a breath and wrote, _S-rank._

The third was a multiple choice option. The choices were POLITICAL MISSION, TOP SECRET MISSION, BASIC MISSION, OR ANBU TEAM MISSION

She circled top secret, meaning that only her, Shikaku, and Sakura would know about this mission.

Underneath that box you needed to write all the people who knew and so she did. All three names.

A brief summary of the mission was now needed on the sheet. And Tsunade began to write.

_This mission was brought to the Hokage's attention by Nara Shikaku. He had come up with the mission, from the effect of a previous mission with the team of Shiranui Genma, Namiashi Raido, and Haruno Sakura, with the team lead by Nara Shikaku. Haruno had received a cursed seal from the enemy, Orochimaru. This mission is for Haruno to make Orochimaru believe that she is joining him. Using the cursed seal she will become a shinobi under Orochimaru's command, gather information, kill all targets, including Orochimaru. There is a window for Uchiha Sasuke, he can come back to the village with Haruno, and if he refuses to return with Haruno he will then otherwise be looked at as a target like anyone else and will be killed. Haruno Sakura will then return to the village. Unless mortally wounded._

Tsunade finished the mission summary and then took a breath. She closed her eyes knowing that his mission could very well kill Sakura, if she is found out.

Next she wrote that in a separate box, _mission was not approved by council but will still be carried out, the whole village from the point Haruno leaves the village will be treated as a missing-nin by even the Hokage herself. This is the consequence of the mission for Haruno Sakura, upon her return the real mission will never be revealed to the public, life will become difficult for her to regain the trust of everyone, including her Sensei and team leader, Hatake Kakashi, he will not be informed of the mission._

And now Tsunade came to the box where mission success rate was needed. Shikaku told her the percentage of all things going right, including Sasuke's return... she didn't want to write it… she didn't even want to think about it.

* * *

I paced back and forth in my hospital room incredibly bored out of her mind. I just wanted someone to be in here with me.

I didn't like what this mark was doing to me, making me more frustrated every second.

I went back to my bed and laid down closing my eyes, not sure what images I would see this time but I closed my eyes anyway.

* * *

_I was in the forest of death, well we were, Team 7. And of course due to our luck we were attacked right away by a ninja. But Sasuke-kun took care off him. The approach of the ninja was actually very smart he transformed into Naruto and if it wasn't for Sasuke realizing the small things about the transformation the shinobi used, like the wound on Naruto's face was gone, and the holster for shuriken and kunai was on the left leg instead of the right, we'd for sure be dead._

_Now we sat in an opening and Sasuke had the great idea of making up a password in case we got separated so that wouldn't happen again. I'll admit the password he made up was completely stupid it was so long! But I remembered and it and went through it in my head a few times to make sure._

_And of course we did get separated. I found Sasuke and told him the password perfectly. And then Naruto came out and said the password perfectly._

_Sasuke however through a kunai his was and Naruto successfully dodged. And told him wasn't the real Naruto. Saying that Naruto wouldn't remember that password and the movement was different._

_The fake Naruto burst into smoke and revealed someone else._

_The ninja that was revealed was tall and much older than we were, with long black hair. He was creepy beyond belief._

_"If you knew that the password was going to be too long for him to remember… Why not use a shorter password?" he asked._

_"I knew you were eavesdropping on our conversation in the ground. That's why I made a long password." Sasuke told him. He was so smart!_

_"I see… You don't let your guard down. Looks like I can have more fun than I expected."_

_He took out the scroll from his pocket and I took a quick look to see what it was. It was the very one we needed for the chunin exams._

_"You want our scroll of Earth, right? Since you three have the scroll of heaven." And then the weirdest most disgusting thing happened. He took the scroll, wrapped his tongue around it and swallowed it. EWWWWW. "Now, let's begin. .. the fight over our scrolls.. by putting our lives on the line." He moved his hand to his eye and pulled down the skin._

_Everything went cold and blood splattered the trees and wounds opened up everywhere on both of our bodies making the blood run down both of us. My blood ran cold and I felt immense pain take over. High pitched noises shattered our ear drums causing pain in my ears and making my head throb. And a kunai flew right into my forehead and Sasuke's too._

_WE almost fell over and we began panting hard. I had no wounds, no blood on me, or splattered on the trees, and no kunai in my head. I was alive._

_But what was that? A genjutsu? I was shaking from just watching both of us die and feeling everything that went with it. And Sasuke had fallen to the ground after coughing up blood and was in a cold sweat._

_The man started to laugh and then said. "You can't move already?"_

_Out of the corner of my eye I saw Sasuke forcing himself up with a kunai in his hand._

_"What are you going to do with that?" the man asked._

_Sasuke stopped dead, he couldn't move again and the man started walking towards us with now two kunai in his hand. I started a cold sweat seeing us being hit with those two kunai in the head killing us again and began to breath heavily. "Relax, I will end this in a flash…. You won't even have time to suffer." He pulled his arm with the two kunai of his head. "I wanted to have a little more fun… but, now I'm disappointed." He flung the two kunai at us and both of us were still unable to move. This was the end._

_When I finally snapped out of the trance I was somewhere else, Sasuke in front of me. With a kunai right in his leg._

_"Sasuke-kun!" I said worriedly. "Are you okay?"_

_He slapped a hand over my mouth to silence me. And looked behind him. He was shaking, almost as much as I was before. And then I heard it. And looked to my left and panicked. Holy fucking shit! That's huge fucking snake!_

_I couldn't get words out my mouth and Sasuke kept his grip on my mouth so I wouldn't get loud and pushed him off me desperately. "Sasuke-kun! A snake!" He looked over and then jumped away and I jumped out of that tree as well. And the snake bit down in the tree, the exact same spot we were just at._

_The snake went right after Sasuke then and then I heard him screaming he sent shuriken at it and yelled. "Don't come near me!" The snake fell onto a tree and started bleed out._

_He landed in a tree close by and then the snake began to… crack? And out came that weirdo from before. "You can't let your guard down, even for a second." He was rising out of the snake covered in this gross slime. EWWWW. "Prey need to strain their minds all the time, and run around…" he looked up to Sasuke. "in the presence of a predator."_

_His body became like rubber and stretched from the snake all the way up the tree Sasuke was in, wrapping around it just like snake. But then a pile of shiruken and kunai hit the tree right in front of the guy. I looked up in the direction from where they came from._

_"Sorry, Sasuke." That voice._

_"Naruto!" I yelled excitedly._

_"I forgot the password." He told Sasuke from up in the trees._

_"Naruto, you must have come here to show off by helping us, but don't get involved!" Sasuke shouted."Run! He's way above our level!"_

_"Looks like you defeated that big snake, Naruto-kun." The creepy guy said to him._

_They all stood there looking at each other for a minute and it looks like Sasuke was deep in thought about something._

_"Hey, hey, hey, hey… looks like you were picking on the weak, eh? Now that I the great Uzumaki Naruto is here I'm going to beat you to a pulp!" Ugh…. Naruto….._

_"Wait." Sauske said. And then everyone looked to him. He reached in is pocket. "I'll give you the scroll, please, take this and leave us in peace."_

_"Hey! Sasuke what the hell are you trying to do giving the enemy our scroll!" Naruto shouted._

_It was a good plan, to get us out of here alive, not pass the exam, but of course I'd rather live._

_"You shut up!"_

_"I see, you're smart." The man said getting up from the tree. "The only hope a prey has from a predator is to hand over something else to save itself."_

_"Take it!" Sasuke said and then threw the scroll at him. He put his hand out to catch it. And then dumb ass Naruto jumped from his tree and grabbed it before it reached the enemy's hands._

_"You.. Don't butt in!" Sasuke yelled. "Don't you understand the situation we're in!?"_

_Naruto got up from landing on the tree and punched Sasuke square in the face, causing blood to come out of his mouth._

_Sasuke grabbed onto on the trees while flying backwards and landed safely. "Why you… Why did you do that?!" Naruto looked up at Sasuke._

_"I… forgot the password…" he said. "so I can't make sure of this, but, you're a fake Sasuke aren't you?"_

_"Naruto! What…What are you talking about?!" I yelled out to him._

_"You idiot! I'm the real one!"_

_"Liar. The idiot and coward I see right in front of me is not the Sasuke I know. I don't know how strong he is, but there is no guarantee that he'll let us go even if we give him the scroll. You're the one that's scared, the one that doesn't understand the situation."_

_The man laughed. "Naruto-kun… you're correct. I just have to kill all of you… to take the scroll." He shoved up his sleeve and bit his thumb making a line on his arm I couldn't see what he was doing from my position._

_"Don't mess with me!" Naruto yelled and ran forward towards the guy._

_"Stop! Run, Naruto!" Sasuke yelled._

_The man made hand signs and gust of wind came from nowhere blowing Naruto away and a huge snake popped up underneath the man's feet, like the snake from before._

_Naruto landed on a tree right in front of the snake and the snake whipped it's tail making the tree break._

_"Naruto!" Sasuke and I screamed. He hit a tree yelling out and spitting up blood. And then he fell towards the snake._

_"Eat him, for now." The man said and the snake licked it's lips with it's tongue._

_Naruto fell towards the snake and then whipped out a punch right at the snake's mouth. He kept on punching it over and over again. "Naruto's gone berserk." I said to myself. "By why is Naruto so strong?"_

_The snake threw him back with it's tongue and Naruto hit a tree with his legs jumping right back to the snake. The man opened his mouth and spat out fire at Naruto sending him into another tree. "You're next." The man said to Sasuke. "Sasuke-kun, how will you fight?"_

_The snake and the man headed straight towards Sasuke and Sasuke didn't move a muscle. "Sasuke-kun!" I shouted but he didn't move the snake and the man flying towards him._

_The snake stopped, like he hit something hard he couldn't get past._

_Naruto… I saw him in the corner of my eye, he stopped the snake. Sasuke was still standing there shaking. "This idiot and coward is still not the Sasuke I know." Naruto said. The guy's tongue began to wrap around Naruto and pulled Naruto up in the air._

_"Why you!" Naruto yelled. "Let go you snake bastard!"_

_The man made a hand sign and then punched Naruto in the gut. And Naruto let out a cry and his face looked like he was in complete pain._

_"Sasuke-kun! Please help Naruto!" It was starting to scare me, it almost looked like Naruto was going to die from that one attack. And then he just fell unconscious. The guy sent him flying towards a tree but he was going to slow he was going to end up falling to the ground. "Naruto!" I yelled and then sent two kunai his way. The kunai stuck him in the jacket and hung him up into a tree, so he wouldn't fall to the ground. "What's wrong Sasuke-kun?" he was still shaking? "Naruto is different from you Sasuke-kun, he's dumber and a nuisance sometimes, but at least he's not a coward!"_

_Sasuke finally snapped out of it and actually looked like he was going to put up a fight. And then the snake disappeared in a puff of smoke._

_Sasuke took out a kunai and put it in his mouth, he ran at full speed towards the guy. Sasuke sent kunai flying at him but he dodged every one that came his way. Sasuke started kicking him but the guy blocked each one of those as well._

_They were sending kicks and punched at each other but each one was blocked by the other._

_The guy was running around and around so fast that my eyes couldn't keep up with his speed, but Sasuke could he dodged the attack the man went at him with and breathed fire at him. The man came towards Sasuke tearing up the tree and swiped at him, but Sasuke dodged and moved back._

_The man sent a huge gust of wind at Sasuke tearing up all the trees and even causing one to fall down._

_Sasuke landed above the man and tackled him taking him down flying with him. And he slammed him right into the ground._

_Yes! He did it! And then the guy's body started to turn into mud._

_"A replacement?" Sasuke mumbled to himself surprised._

_A bunch of kunai flew at Sasuke and he jumped down to the tree below to avoid the shower of kunai._

_The guy then found him and kept landing hits and blows on Sasuke._

_"That was too easy. You're not living up to the name of Uchiha like I expected." The man said. "Oh, well, I'm going to slowly beat you and the kill you… just like a bug."_

_Then a small explosion occurred and the man almost fell of the tree and Sasuke rose form laying down. Throwing shuriken at him with wires attached. He pulled on the wires and the wires wrapped the guy around the tree, tying him to it not letting him move even a finger._

_Sasuke then used a fire element jutsu and the fire went right to the guy, absorbing the guy into flames._

_"He did it!" I said excitedly._

_The tree was burnt to a crisp and finally it was over._

_"Sasuke-kun!" I yelled coming down from the tree. "You did it!" he started breathing heavily and had his hands on his knees trying to calm himself. "Are you okay? Get a hold of yourself." I told him._

_I heard the wires snap and then the feeling I had before the cold feeling, like I was dying and I collapsed to the ground._

_"Is he using a form of paralysis?" Sasuke said. We were both shaking now._

_"I'm impressed that you can use sharingan so well at your ago, you do live up to the name Uchiha. I want you after all." He said. But it was strange, while he was talking his voice started to change into another voice. A more, creepier, raspier one. "You two are defiantly brothers. Your eyes say you carry more potential than Itachi."_

_"Who are you?" Sasuke yelled._

_He whipped out the scroll of heaven that used to be ours. "My name is Orochimaru."_

* * *

I woke from the dream in a cold sweat with the same feeling I had from the genjutsu he used on us when we first encountered him. I sat right up gasping for air. As his voice came into my head even now as I was awake.

**"If only you were useful, Sakura…"**

If I was useful, Sasuke might be here right now and none of this would have happened.

I began to get frustrated more and more and myself. Maybe this was all my fault because I was so damn incompetent!

**"You can be powerful, useful, make people realize your true potential."**

I rose from the bed and pacing back and forth I found myself unable to calm myself down from the dream and knocked the flower vase over in a punch.

Energy started swelling around me and became angrier and angrier and I wanted to… hurt something or even someone I need it. I wanted it. I couldn't help myself.

**"You know you want it. You want my power. I can help you."**

The scary purple chakra that consumed Sasuke years ago started swelling around me and I tried to calm myself but couldn't the curse mark was now growing around my body and It burned all of it. But it felt great I never felt so powerful, so in control of everything my body had to give me. It felt so good.

**"I can make you strong."**

I wanted to hurt something. Make pain come to someone else. I wanted it. I needed it.

I took a punch to the window that I was looking out of early before and glass went into my hand making it start to bleed. But I didn't feel pain. Just energy.

**"I can improve you so much… Sakura…"**

A nurse rushed into the room after hearing the glass shattering.

"Sakura-san!" she yelled over to me. I tried to control myself as I snapped back to my old mind, I didn't want to kill her.

"Don't come any closer!" I yelled to her in pain. It burned the mark, but I… couldn't control it. I was getting even more frustrated. Breath I told myself. I took a deep breath and the mark started to recede and the burning began to go away I fell to the ground from losing all the power and energy that I had in that short amount of time. I breathed heavily on the ground.

"Should I call Tsundae-sama?" the nurse asked from the door way.

"No!" I yelled out angrily, and I sounded scary with blood lust in my voice. What was happening to me? The nurse left the room. Leaving me there by myself.

**"All you have to do is come to me… Sakura…"**

* * *

**New Story Alert!**

* * *

-Silence-

I walked over to the right side of the hospital bed and sat down in my usual seat. The hospital looked the same like everyday. The white bed with the neat sheets. The window that had the pale blue curtains. On the nightstand was the bouquet of flowers I got yesterday a a few cards sat on the window sill. I shouldn't have let her go on that damn mission.

This story is now updated it is a SasuSaku and is a one-shot! Check it out a review! It brings a smile to my face :)

* * *

_Well wasn't that a blast from the past. The amount of time that took to watch the episodes and pausing it every now and again so I could write what happened was unbelievable. _

_I'm really just excited that this chapter is published and now we can finally get the show on the road._

_If your wondering those episodes are 28-30._

_I really like how this chapter turned out._

**_Don't forget to review! _**

**_I love opinions of my stories._**

**_Reviews make me smile :)_**

Next update will be **_THURSDAY JULY 18TH_ I** will be leaving for vacation Friday so I won't be home. And then the next chapter will be updated **_SATURDAY_ _JULY 27TH_** because I don't know what time I'll be getting home.

**Now I feel like something needs to be addressed! So if you don't read the manga just leave now and don't read this but I need to rant about something here. So SPOILER ALERT  
**

_Look I'm glad Sasuke is back and all and I like he's like protect the village! And I'm all like yay! You're going back to normal now! we can finally have Sasuke back!_

_And then he opens his mouth...__ and says he wants to be Hokage._

_Maybe it's just me but... What the fuck Sasuke? Really? What the fuck?_

_You got me so happy that you're back now and then annoyed me two seconds later._

_First you leave the village because they can't "offer" you anything  
_

_Join Orochimaru, and enemy of the village who had already tried to destroy it._

_Killed your brother, found out the truth and then have the need to destroy the village. The village your brother did all of that for._

_And then later after having Hashirama get into the whole Madara story again decide you want to be Hokage._

_Okay._

_I mean I get he wants to make the village better so that no one will have to go through what his brother had to go through, yada yada yada_

_But... I just..._

_No._

_I feel better now._

_Sorry._


	6. Chapter 6

_YAY! Chapter 6! _

_This chapter took long to right because it's more about what the curse mark is doing to Sakura than anything._

_Sasuke is in this chapter but nothing really happens with him. But he does make his first appearance._

_Next chapter will be more exciting._

_Disclaimer: yeah... I don't own Naruto..._

* * *

**Orochimaru's voice in bold  
**

* * *

Chapter 6

* * *

I woke up the next day, feeling much better than yesterday.

"Sakura-chan!" a voice came from the right side of me. I looked over to see the who the voice belonged to; my brain was a little fuzzy.

"Naruto…." I stuttered out.

I shook my head to try and get rid of the fuzziness that was going through my brain, I couldn't think completely straight, about anything for that matter, I saw Naruto but it was more like it was a dream and it wasn't real.

Then I remembered that the Naruto in my mind was dead.

The lines between reality and my hallucinations blurred.

Now I didn't feel any emotions though. So I faked it.

I gave him a smile.

Naruto leaned over in my bed and gave me giant hug. I was shocked a little bit a taken back that he hugged me so tight.

"I thought I was going to lose you Sakura-chan!" he said into me, he still didn't let go from me.

"I'm fine, Naruto." I told him. There was no sound of emotion in my voice, and I still felt nothing. Was this what the curse mark did to you? I wondered if Naruto knew about the mark.

"I didn't want that bastard Orochimaru to take another away from me." he grumbled.

"I'm completely fine, really." I told him.

"Granny wouldn't tell us anything about you." Naruto said. "I was really worried."

I gave a fake smile, one that Sai would have on his face. "Just a few bruises and really tired. I needed rest more than anything."

Naruto kept his gaze. And gave me a smile but then it turned into a frown.

"What's on the back of your neck?" he asked worriedly.

Since he saw me from the side I guess he was able to see it clearly. Damn it.

"Oh… it's nothing Naruto." I felt uncomfortable talking about the mark that was new to my neck.

"Don't lie to me Sakura-chan."

"Really, it's nothing."

"It's almost like…." He trailed off mid-sentence and then rose from his seat coming closer to me and then made me sit up by pushing me forward roughly.

"Ow, Naruto."

"It…" was all he managed to get out.

"Naruto…."

He backed away from me in complete shock.

"It's the mark, the same that Sasuke has…."

"Naruto, listen to me."

"No! This is a dream, you can't have it!"

"I do, Naruto, but will you listen to me?!"

"This is a dream…. It has to be… a terrible nightmare…" he said with a nervous smile. "Right, Sakura-chan?"

I didn't answer at all. I just stared at him. My anger was starting to get the best of me.

"Or it's just a bruise right? And I'm seeing things, right?"

"Naruto, STOP!" I yelled. I lost control of my anger. This stupid curse mark was making me crazy! It was making me so fucking angry. I stared straight forward realizing I just snapped for no reason at my best friend and shook my head to snap out of it.

He looked up at me in shocked eyes.

"Yes, I have the curse mark, having it so far, it sucks, I'm angry all the time, I…" _hear voices in my head, have hallucinations_, I finished in my head, I didn't want to worry him. "But, I'm trying to control it, right now I rather not even talk about."

Naruto looked at me still with the shocked expression.

"Naruto… I don't want you to tell anyone."

"Why? What do you mean?"

"I don't want people to look at me different, or talk to me like I'm a bomb waiting to go off."

"Okay…." Naruto sighed. "But… you're not going to…"

I didn't understand at first what he was talking about and then it clicked. "No…."

He was asking if I wanted to leave, to go off to Orochimaru. At this point I couldn't tell if I was lying or not.

* * *

"Tsunade, what is this about you sending in Haruno Sakura to Ororchimaru?" Koharu said barging into Tsunade's office.

Tsunade did not answer her, she just continued writing in the file she had sprawled on her desk.

"Tsunade, we believe this mission should not be carried out." Homura chimed in.

Still Tsunade did not say anything.

"Tsunade."

"I'm carrying out this mission, as soon as I talk to Sakura about it, we will begin to carry it out." she snapped taking her eyes off her papers and up to the two advisers.

"We do not think this is wise." Koharu said. "We have already done this once, before you were kage and it seemed that we caused more harm than good."

"What are you talking about?" Tsunade insisted.

"Uchiha Itachi." Homura said.

* * *

"Oi." Came from someone in the dark room. 'Oi!" it came again when the person that accompanied him in the same dark room. "Oi. Sasuke."

"What?" he snapped coldly.

"You're so out of it, I asked you when you're planning on leaving?"

The other voice was coming from a tube in one of the very mysterious rooms of Orochimaru's hideout. There were many other tubes around just like this one, but this one was different. Instead of having some type of strange creature or monster it was in fact a person.

"As soon as I kill him." Sasuke said. "I told you this how many times before."

The man in the tube scoffed. "You're gonna' get me out and take me with ya' right?"

"Hn." Was all that came from Sasuke and he left the room leaving the man alone with all the monsters and creatures that were used for Orochimaru's experiments.

"I think he likes me." Said the man to himself.

* * *

"Kakashi," Tsunade started. "I need you to seal up the curse mark put on Sakura, it'll probably stop her from feeling so angry."

Kakashi nodded.

The seal, wasn't really necessary. She knew that if Sakura would take this mission, which Tsunade knew she would, that it might look a bit strange if the seal was placed on Sasuke and not Sakura. She knew Orochimaru wouldn't be too suspicious, but he might think about it more than she wanted him too. She was just taking extra measures. There was no harm in that.

"Also, Kakashi, use the same seal you used on Sasuke."

He nodded again and then left the Hokage office.

Tsunade sighed. She really was over loaded with work. The village should have more than one Hokage at a time.

She took a bottle of sake out of the drawer in her desk, and began to drink right from the bottle not even bothering to get a glass.

* * *

"Good morning! Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled entering the room. "I brought others with me today too!"

Naruto wasn't the only one who entered, along with him came Ino, Shikamaru, and Lee.

"Sakura-san!" Lee cried out and then hugged me after he came barging through everyone.

I was already starting to lose my cool.

"Lee," Ino started. "You should get off her, she's probably sore."

No, just getting angry the more he holds onto me. Lee released me and stood on the left side of the bed.

"It's good to see you're okay, Sakura…" Ino said with a smile. "I brought you some flowers." She put the vase of daisies that were put in a blue vase on my nightstand.

"Thank you, Ino." I said to her trying to control the anger I now had to deal with thanks to Lee.

"What happened to your neck?" Shikamaru asked pointing to his own.

He wasn't referring to the mark, I wrapped my entire neck up in bandages so no one would see anything. It was what I wanted, even if the wrappings were really annoying to deal with.

"Oh," I put my finger up to my collarbone and moved it up to my chin. "Kunai wound." I told them. "It should be gone in a week or two."

Shikamaru nodded.

Ino looked at me worriedly.

And Naruto looked down to the floor ashamed that he was being a part of this lie.

"It doesn't hurt much, but that might be because of the pain killers." I said with a smile. It was so easy to lie to them; it shouldn't be this easy I told myself. Was this also what the mark did, make you feel like you could lie about anything, no matter the person, and make you an emotionless brick, no matter the situation.

"You look pretty tired, should we come back later?" Ino asked.

"No, no. You can stay." I told them. I didn't want them to leave and then come back that would be to much hassle and another chance to get me angry.

I smiled at all three of them. Pretending nothing was wrong.

"**You don't need them…. Power, is everything. Friends and bonds mean nothing."**

A massive headache came along with the voice.

"**You deserve more than what you have… you could be great, and prove to everyone that you're not a useless little cherry blossom."**

My eye twitched by the voice while all four of my friends stood around my bed talking to each other.

**"Don't you want to feel powerful? Invincible?"**

The headache was getting worse. The room began to spin.

"Sakura!" came a cry. I couldn't tell who it was. Everything was now blurry. I was getting nauseous.

"Your nose it bleeding! Lee get a tissue!"

"Of course Ino-san!"

"Should I call Tsunade?"

"Yeah, Naruto go!"

"I guess I should get the nurse in the mean time?"

"Good idea!"

A tissue was put to my face and I tried to push it away, but my arms where heavy.

The mark started to burn and sting. I tried to hold back the scream and my anger amplified tenfold.

"STOP!" I screamed at everyone in the room. I held the back on my neck that was burning up and I was beginning to sweat. I took a deep breath and breathed out. Calm down. I told myself.

Lee pulled the tissue away and Ino walked back and starred at me. I felt the mark start to spread but I held in back with the energy I still somehow had. I took a deep breath and burning started to calm down.

Why the hell is this happening?

"Sakura, what's wrong?" Ino asked me

"Nothing, maybe you guys should leave." It sounded rather rude but I couldn't help it with all the anger pent up and when all four of them came to the rescue for me was driving me crazy because the voice in my head then sounded more true. That I couldn't take care of myself.

* * *

It was the day I was leaving the hospital. I still had the bandages wrapped up my neck to hide the mark. Tsunade told me Kakashi was coming to walk me home. Why was beyond me.

"Sakura." Kakashi said walking in the door of my room. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine." I one worded him.

He sighed. He didn't have his orange book with him so he must be serious about something. "Tsunade told me about…." He hinted at it, the mark on my neck, and then pointed to the spot on his own neck. "I'm going to make it better, by sealing it."

I said nothing. But starred at him.

"Come on, no one will find out. I won't tell anyone." Kakashi said with a smile.

I nodded and followed him out the hospital.

We came to an apartment building that was a couple blocks down from the hospital. "This is my apartment building, but we're going to use the basement because then no one will hear your screams."

He began walking into towards the building.

"Wait…What?"

"Did you think the sealing was going to be couple hand signs and that's it. Oh no, you'll be in a pain, and will most likely be put back into the hospital because of the stress on your body." Kakashi said. "Don't worry it's not like I'm going to rape you."

"I didn't even think about you raping me." I mumbled to myself as he started walking in front of me.

We walked into the apartment building and walked downstairs to the basement. And then he took out a kunai, I honestly had no idea what he was going to do with it.

He made circles on the ground with he kunai he took out and put more kunai, in almost was like in random spots in the circle. "Okay, Sit down in the middle."

I did what I was told.

Before he made his circles and put kunai in places he asked me to take my top off because he had to write the seal on my back and part of my collar bone.

I sat down in nothing but wrappings over my breasts and the black skirt. I had already taken off the wrappings I had around my neck.

He took the kunai and slit a cut in his palm. The blood poured down from his palm and he spent the ten minutes writing the formula for the seals on the ground and on my body.

"Okay." He said when he was done. "Ready?"

I nodded being a little nervous since he said this was going to be painful.

He made hand signs behind me and put his palm on the curse mark. Light emitted from his palm and went into the curse.

And then the pain came. It was like ten kunai were being forced into the one spot at the same exact time.

The burning that would sometimes happen with the mark started burning more than ever and all of in increased as the sealing went on. I screamed out in pain and the pain grew more and more. I saw the formula he made move up and in the direction of the mark and I still cried out in pain it was starting to dull suddenly and it wasn't hurting as much.

I felt Kakashi's palm leave the area and the pain heightened suddenly and I screamed out in more pain. I doubled over on the ground supporting myself up with my arms.

"If the mark ever acts up again, trying to take control, the seal will stop it in it's tracks." He told me.

I was breathing heavily and the pain finally ended and it felt so much better.

"However, this seal I used uses your will as its main source. If you lose faith in your power and your will decreases the mark will activate, and you won't be able to control it."

Everything became blurry, and the room was spinning around and around.

I felt like I was going to throw up. And I did but not vomit, blood.

And then I fell to the ground, blacking out.

* * *

Beep.

"When do you think she'll wake up?"

I couldn't tell who the voice belonged to it was all. Underwater sounding...

Beep.

Where am I? I can't remember anything...

"I have no idea when she'll wake." it was a different voice this time.

Beep.

I'm in the hospital again…..

That's right Kakashi-Sensei said I probably would be….

I didn't even have strength to open my eyes.

Beep.

"What even happened?" it was the first voice that spoke... I think.

Beep.

Beep.

I'm so tired... I want to sleep...

Beep.

But... I... Am I dying...?

Beep.

Damn beeping.

* * *

_So that was chapter 6!_

_Yepp. I don't really remember what episode it was when Sasuke got the seal but I remember the title of it had to do with his lion combo... I'm to lazy to look it up._

_Last chapter I complained about Sasuke, it felt better to get that out, sorry if you're all pro Sasuke being the next Hokage but I still want Naruto to be the Hokage._

_I'm currently working on The Survivor, my profile has more details about that one._

_It's been a long day_

_BAHHH It's so hot! I unfortunately do have to get move on, on my summer reading... Ugh... Work..._

_Sorry this was a short chapter! Next one is much longer!_

_Please Review it makes me smile, seriously it does make me smile :)_


	7. Chapter 7

**Yay! Chapter 7!**

**I'm really, really tired.**

**I was on vacation and on the way home we somehow got lost...**

**It was a bad day.**

**Then I had to get up early and go to work... got home... slept... I went to go update this chapter and saw that I didn't even edit it yet... bummer...**

* * *

_I do not own Naruto_

* * *

Chapter 7

* * *

Three days later I was out the hospital. I was much better now, not angry all the time, defiantly much calmer with everything. The seal that Kakashi put on me was major help. I remembered that I'd have to thank him later.

I excited the hospitals doors to see Shikaku standing at the gates of the hospital leaning. When I walked out he looked straight up and me and was getting ready to say something to me. Why was he here? I wouldn't expect he would be one to visit me in the hospital or even after I get out. I was his son's friend and nothing else.

"The Hokage and I wish to talk to you." Shikaku stated. As I got closer to the gates and to him. "There's something that came up for you to do." He told me.

"So soon? I just came from the hospital."

"Yes, but the sooner, the better." He looked at me with a very serious look. "Come by around seven tonight, to her office." He waved goodbye without another word and not letting me even answer and left, disappearing into the crowds of people.

I wanted to think more about whatever they had planned for me but right now I didn't care much.

I most of all wanted to see Naruto and apologize to Lee, Ino, and Shikamaru for the other day for me snapping out at them.

I wanted to thank Kakashi-Sensei for putting the handy dandy seal on me.

So many things to do. When I left the hospital it was around noon. I really just wanted food right now. I walked all the way to the opposite side of the village to Ichiraku Ramen hoping to see Naruto there.

When I arrived he wasn't there. Maybe he was training.

Since it wouldn't feel right eating ramen without Naruto I decided to go to a small restaurant a block away. I arrived there and took a seat at a small table. It wasn't very busy today, which I was glad about because it was such a small space.

I ordered a plate of sushi and got ready to finally eat, I was starving!

After I ate, I took a trip to the training grounds to see if Naruto was there, only o find a couple of genin training. I sighed. Where was he?

A mission maybe? I setteled on that answer and just accepted that for the rest of the day I was going to be bored.

* * *

"Do you think Sakura-chan is okay?" Naruto asked as the ran in the trees.

"I'm sure she's fine."

"I'm just worried you know?"

"I know Naruto." Kakashi kept tip toeing around the answers he gave Naruto he promised Sakura that no one would find out about the mark from him and he was going to keep that promise.

Naruto, unaware that Kakashi knew about the mark, really wanted nothing more than to tell Kakashi about it, so Kakashi could tell him it was going to be fine and Sakura would never leave the village. But he promised Sakura he would tell no one. And he wasn't going to get a beating by her, that was a fact.

"When do you think we'll be getting back to the village?" Naruto asked.

"Soon, hopefully, we should be home by tonight."

The mission the two were sent on was a simple Intel mission, gather information on a very large drug cartel that was apparently selling to Konoha and Suna shinobi, the shinobi haven't been caught yet so Tsunade sent Kakashi and Naruto on a quick mission to try and get the names.

Naruto nodded hoping Kakashi was right. He wanted to get home, he felt very uneasy about something.

* * *

When I looked to the clock on my wall in my living room. I spent the last of the hours I had until the meeting I was asked to go to, watching reruns of the most idiotic shows I've ever seen. They were just so stupid.

I got up from the couch, turning the TV off and left my apartment and heading to the Hokage building.

I arrived right on time to Tsunade's office. Shikaku was already there and I walked in to receive stares from both of them.

"Sorry… Did I keep you waiting?" I said as I closed the door behind me.

"No, no, we just wanted to review things before you got here. You're fine." Tsunade told me. I nodded glad that I didn't keep them waiting. I hated making people wait. Something Kakashi needed that particular trait in his personality.

"We will begin right now with the meeting." Shikaku said in a very serious tone.

"Alright."

"Sakura…" Tsunade started closing her eyes. It looked like what she was going to explain was going to be difficult. "The mission that Shikaku has come up with will be a difficult decision for you."

I had a decision when it came to missions? Since when?

"This mission, only you can do." She took a breath, like the breaths I took to calm myself down. "We want, you to go undercover."

"Oh." That was much less than I thought the bite was going to be. She built up like she was going to tell me I had a week to live or something like that.

"You will be yourself though, more like a double agent, sorry, not undercover." She corrected herself.

"I'm sorry, I just don't understand." I told her.

"You will join forced with Orochimaru." Shikaku interrupted. "You will pretend to trust him and will become a traitor to the village."

I was at a lose of words, my jaw just dropped. Shikaku just continued.

"You will be a traitor not only to the village of Konoha, but to all the other shinobi villages and will be entered in the Bingo book, with a very large sum of money. You will not make any contact with anyone from any village unless done so through the orders of Orochimaru."

"STOP." I yelled. It wasn't the curse mark, there was no burning to around the mark at all to be exact. It was actually my pure anger and confusion. "Why are you doing this? Sending me into the snake's mouth itself."

"We want you to ki…"

A knock came to the door. Tsunade looked at both of them telling them to be quiet without words, just a stare. "Come in." she said calmly.

The door opened to reveal Kakashi and Naruto.

"Oh, you two are back." Tsunade said.

"Yes, here to give the mission report." Kakashi said. When they entered I nearly came to tears. This mission, if I took it I would never see them again. I felt the tears well up in my eyes. I looked straight to the ground when they walked past me.

And then Naruto's body came and embraced mine. "Sakura-chan , I was so worried!" he said to me in our embrace.

"I'm fine, Naruto." I told him while I could still somehow breathe from his hug.

I noticed Kakashi's face when he saw the people who were in the room before they came in. I think he was a little suspicious. I should mention that to Tsunade after they leave.

"Do you want to go get some ramen, Sakura-chan?" he asked excitedly.

"Yeah, I'll meet you there. I just have to talk with Tsunade-sama for a quick second." I told him with a nervous smile.

"Okay!" he yelled as Kakashi began to exit the office.

"Come, Naruto, let them get back to their meeting." He said pulling Naruto out by the ear.

"Ow. Kaka-Sensei!" Naruto yelled as he shut the door behind him.

We waiting a couple minutes to make sure they were out of ear shot.

"What were you saying?" I asked Shikaku.

"Right, well," Shikaku began. "We want you to kill, as many ninja associated with Orochimaru as possible, and eventually Orochimaru."

I nodded but then stopped after I fully registered what he said. "And Sasuke?"

"That depends." Tsunade chimed in.

"Depending on what?" _Depending on whether I'm strong enough_ I suggested to myself.

"Depending on whether you can coax Sasuke into coming back to the village." Tsunade told me.

"And if he refuses?"

"I'm sorry Sakura."

This was so much to handle at once. At one point I was in a hospital. And now I'm requested for a mission to go in as a double agent, kill a bunch of people, such as Orochimaru, and may or may not have to kill Sasuke in the end. I took a deep breath making my head clear so I could think straight.

"How long?" I asked. "How long will I be away?"

"I don't know… that's the thing… it depends how long it takes you to complete the mission."

"And when I return?"

"You will be excepted back into the village, but, gaining everyone's trust back is the unfortunate downfall of this, like your friends, Naruto, Kakashi, Ino, everyone will be hard to gain their acceptance again. And the villagers will probably not even come near you. When you return myself and Shikaku will be your only friends." Tsunade said. "The only ones who will give you trust so quickly back."

I nodded trying to soak it all in. "And if I bring Sasuke's corpse back? What will everyone think? They'll hate me for the rest of my life!"

"Sakura, like I said this is just a theory. You can either accept or decline." Tsunade sighed. "We're going to give you a week to decide."

I nodded. And stood there for a bit until I looked up at them. "I'll have your answer by the end of the week."

And then I left the office, almost in tears. I knew that accepting the mission would help more people and if I declined I would feel defiantly selfish, the only reason that I would have to decline is wanting to keep my friends. That was it.

I made a slow walk towards Ichiraku to meet Naruto.

Before I left I remembered the mumble Shikaku said. _"You can't tell anyone about this. Remember that."_

* * *

"Sakura-chan?"

"Oi. Sakura-chan?!"

"Sakura-chan!"

"Hm?"

I looked over to see Naruto staring at me with wide eyes.

"Sorry, Naruto, I just have a lot on my mind." I told him.

"Does it hurt?" he asked.

"What?" I gave a questionable look. "Oh. No. It doesn't Kakashi-Sensei put this seal on it to stop it."

"Oh."

I sat there in silence and Naruto slurped up some more ramen, my bowl sat in front on of me, untouched.

"You know what Naruto, I'm really tired, I guess I'm not healed completely yet." I told him getting up from my stool. "I'll see you tomorrow." I said giving him a smile and waving good bye.

I sighed as I walked home from the ramen stand.

For days, I've been thinking about the curse mark. And the voices and hallucinations weren't helping… with my decision. I kept thinking that this was just for me, not for Sasuke, not for the sake of keeping people safe from Orochimaru, no one, but me. Did I really consider going to Orochimaru, before this mission came up?

I started to think that I really actually wanted this for myself for a couple reasons.

One, when Sasuke left I offered to go with him, willingly giving myself up to the enemy, maybe not for reasons like power, but I still considered leaving the village.

Two, I hated being useless, and numerous missions I went on told me that I was in fact useless.

Three, compared to a lot of people I am nothing.

And four, I wanted power, I wanted to feel like I could do anything, to prove myself.

More than I realized I started sounded like the voice that would come in my head every now and then, the one that sounded like Orochimaru. And in a way like Sasuke.

When I got to my apartment I went straight to my kitchen taking a piece of paper. I wrote a seven day schedule.

_Day 1- Spend the day with Ino and Tenten._

_Day 2- Spend the day at the hospital working._

_Day 3- Spend the day with Naruto_

_Day 4- Spend the day sparring with Naruto, Sai and Kakashi_

_Day 5- Spend the day walking around the village by myself._

_Day 6- Spend the day with all the friends I can._

_Day 7- Make my decision_

After I did that I went straight to bed. This week I would spend using every thought, I had trying to decide what on earth I was going to do.

I woke with the sun shining the window, changed into my regular clothes and called Ino and Tenten up on the phone.

First I dialed Ino's number.

"Hello?" Ino's voice said.

"Ino, it's Sakura, do you want to get together for lunch today?"

"Sure Sakura!" Ino yelled into the phone.

"I was wondering if Tenten could come too? I want to see you guys since I was held in the hospital for so long!"

"Sure, I'll call her right now! Let's go out for barbeque!" Ino yelled excitedly into the phone I heard the click of the phone indicating she hung up. I looked to the clock. Eleven. I figured I would leave now and intercept Ino at her house.

I walked the three blocks to Ino's house and stood outside waiting for her and soon enough she walked out to greet me saying that Tenten's waiting for us.

We walked all the way to Tenten's house and the walk was nice, we talked about our teams, what we've been doing lately, things like that.

When we got to Tenten's house Ino rammed on the door with her fist. Making very loud sounds.

"Someone is at the door Tenten!" came a voice we recognized as Neji's. Ino and I looked at each other.

"Can you get it?" Tenten yelled. Her voice sounded farther away like she was upstairs.

"Fine." He sighed angrily. We heard his footsteps to the door and the knob turned. "Hello." He said when he opened the door.

"Hello, Neji." Ino said with a giant smile. "We're here to pick up Tenten."

"I know, she told me, she's getting ready upstairs." He said.

Silence...

"Well, we'll be out here." Ino said nervously. Almost cracking a laugh from the awkward silence.

"Alright." He went back into the house closing the door.

"Bye Neji, nice seeing you too." Ino called quietly behind the close door.

"Well, it was nice seeing you too Ino, please come in from outside." She said imitating Neji.

I couldn't help but laugh. Two minutes later Tenten came out of the house.

"Sorry, guys." She said as we walked towards the restaurant. "Neji has been making me angry all day, he's in one of his moods."

"We could tell." I told her.

"Ugh! Living with him is just insanity!"

"You're lucky, you're the only one out of us that has a relationship."

"Does Neji know that?"

"Know what?" Ino asked.

"That we even have a relationship?"

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know, now that we bought a house and moved in together, he doesn't seem to want to hang out anymore."

"Maybe he just needs time, I mean to adjust."

"Maybe, it did take him a couple days to even adjust to the word girlfriend."

Ino and I laughed.

"Listen, Neji hardly has emotions… it might take him a little time to get around to emotions and things like that but sometimes he could be sweet."

"So he's a closet romantic?" Ino teased.

"No. GOD NO. he's like…. I don't know… cute… in his own way."

"Like what?"

"Well, for my birthday, he bought me a bunch of roses, and wrote a sort of scavenger hunt on the card. And it would lead me to another present and another clue. The last present was him sitting on the roof with a candle light dinner."

"Tenten, that's what called romantic, so he is a closet romanic!" Ino said laughing.

"INO DO NOT SAY A WORD, THIS CONVERSATION DOES NOT LEAVE US. He'd kill me if he found out I told people about that."

"Fine, fine."

The rest of lunch we ate barbeque until we were full. And then said goodbye to each other and went our separate ways.

When I got home from my day out with Ino and Tenten I scratched Day 1 off my list.

* * *

When I woke the second day of the week, I looked at my list. Spend the day at the hospital working. I got ready and left my apartment and walked towards the hospital.

I spent the day working with kids, and helping out people with their physicals for the Tsunade. I did a physical on Genma which made me laugh because he kept making sexual comments like always.

"Oh, Genma." I said when I entered the examination room.

"You're doing my physical are you?" he said sitting in the chair relaxed.

"Yes, I am." I told him, I pointed to the examination table. "Get up." He did so.

"Why the wrappings around your neck?" he said making a circle motion with his finger going around his head.

"I'm hiding the mark." It was easy to talk around him since he knew about it.

"Why?"

"I don't want people to know about it just yet."

"You're such a worrywart. What's the worst that could happen?"

I looked through his file checking up on things. "Oh look at that, you're due for shots."

"What?" worry came to his face at the mention of shots. He gulped. "How many?"

"Two." I said pulling out two different medicines from the drawer. He looked at me with a pouting face. "Don't be such a baby." I teased.

I did the examination and left the shots for last.

"Roll up your sleeve." I told him. He did so. I took the first syringe and filled it up with the medicine and put it into Genma's arm. "Now your pants."

"What?"

"Pull down your pants." I said and walked over to get the other syringe. And filled it up with medicine. I turned to see Genma still sitting there. "Are you going to do it?"

"Can you do it for me?" he asked teasingly.

I rolled my eyes. "Just do it, this is taking longer than it needs to be."

"Fine…" he groaned and then got up from the examination table unzipped and pulled down his pants and boxers.

"Thank you." I went to his back side and gave him the shot. I threw the shot in the trash and I turned around. He still stood there with his pants down. "You can pull them up now." I told him.

"Oh, sorry I thought you were getting a good look." Still he left his pants around his ankles. At the most inopportune time the door burst right open. It was Hazuki, a doctor in training, medic nin like myself.

"Oh, god, I'm sorry I thought you left Genma-san." She said with a very huge blush on her face.

I couldn't help it, I burst in to laughter, and through my tears of laughter I saw Genma try and pull up his pants. He almost fell over which made me laugh even harder.

"Yeah, laugh it off…" he said as he started to leave. "Goodbye, Sakura… Hazuki-chan."

I was still laughing even though Genma was gone. When I finally calmed down, I looked over to Hazuki, who was still in a blush.

"Tsunade-sama wanted me to tell you that…uh."

"Loss of words?" I asked.

"I'm sorry, really I thought he left."

"No, no, he deserved that." I said almost beginning to laugh again.

"I'm sure Genma-san did not deserve that." She said defending him. I calmed myself down at that point when she said that.

"Ohhhh. I see how it is. You like Genma."

"What!? No!" she said rather too quickly and he face went back to a blush.

"Liar." I told her. "You should try and make a move…"

"Really? You think he would say yes?"

"You're kidding right? You're a girl. And you're breathing. I think you'll check out to be fine."

"Well…"

"I'm sorry, no seriously. He'll say yes."

She nodded.

Hazuki was actually a very, very pretty woman. She was older than me, but that didn't bother her that I was her superior. She was an ANBU before she became a medic. But she wanted to start being a full time doctor. Slow it down and look for a husband, because her parents kept bothering her.

Hazuki was tall, had dark blue eyes, and long brown hair that shined in the light.

"Maybe he'll stop with all the flirts towards everyone, after he starts dating you." I suggested. That was good for everyone.

* * *

It was the third day of my week, today's assignment… spend the day with Naruto.

I met Naruto at Ichiraku Ramen of course and the day was spent making jokes laughing, and eating.

After ramen, we got big cups of lemonade.

Then pieces of pie.

Soft pretzels.

We had barbeque for dinner.

And then ate ice cream while sitting on the head of the Third Hokage looking down at all the lights.

"Do you think he'll come back?" Naruto asked. Taking a lick of his vanilla ice cream.

"I don't know. I think the better question is… how much we want him back." I responded licking my chocolate ice cream.

"I would do anything to get Sasuke back… you?"

The question had so much to do with my life right now that I actually thought about it hard. Unlike Naruto who had no decision to make about it.

"I… I think so." I said.

Naruto smiled at me.

And I smiled back.

_I would do anything to get Sasuke back_. Because Naruto wanted him back too, and he would do anything, even the mission I was faced with. I looked down at my ice cream.

I wished I could tell someone. Talk about it with them. Like Naruto. But I couldn't

* * *

The forth day I wrote down to spar with my team. Since it was already scheduled for awhile now.

I arrived at the grounds everyone already there, even Kakashi. Well that was odd.

"Alright, let's begin."

I sparred against Kakashi first mostly we did taijutsu and he had me perform a genjutsu on him. During the taijustu sparring though, of course, he won.

Then I went up against Nartuo. Still using taijutsu, since Naruto said he really needed practice with it. I almost beat him too. But I landed on the ground from one of his kicks.

I lost against Sai as well.

Today just wasn't a good day.

I went home and drank a hot cup of tea and went to bed.

* * *

The fifth day, walk around the village.

I drank a bottle of soda walking around the village seeing old things like the academy, and all the old things that I reminisced on.

It was a nice day I spent by myself eating at my favorite restaurant, visiting my old house, my parents graves.

It was nice to finally take a day to myself.

When I got home there was a note on my door telling me, Naruto, Kakashi, Sai, and Ino went on a mission and will be in two days.

I wondered why I wasn't asked for a moment. But then I thought about the mission I had to think about. Tsunade probably played the "still healing" card for me when Naruto asked.

I sighed as I entered the apartment. Tomorrow I was supposed to spend as much time with my friends as I could but everyone I knew now was on a mission.

Tenten, Lee, and Neji went on one to Suna.

Shikamaru went along with them to Suna to talk about the upcoming chunin exams.

Hinata and Kiba were on a mission as well.

And now all my closest friends were gone.

* * *

The next day I spent in bed thinking and sleeping and wanting today to never end but it did.

* * *

I woke early that morning and headed to Tsunade's office. Shikaku already there.

"I assume you sent everyone on missions so no one would interrupt us today."

"That and a over flow of missions came in." Tsunade told her.

"Well, I have made a choice."

They both held their stares on me.

"So… when do I leave?"

* * *

**Now things can move a little faster...**

**Going back to regular days. **

**Every Friday I'll be here.**


	8. Chapter 8

Hello! And Happy Friday!

Here we go with Chapter 8!

I wanted this to be longer but, It's just not.

Next chapter will be much longer. I promise.

* * *

_I do not own Naruto_

* * *

Chapter 8

* * *

"So I take it that you are accepting this mission."

"Yes. That is correct." I told Tsunade.

"You'll leave tomorrow night." She said to me. "We need to have a meeting with the two advisers however, and Danzou. They are their way now."

"So you knew I would accept?"

"I know you Sakura."

I nodded. Considering I figured out my answer on the walk here to the Hokage Building and behind the door before I entered she knew me better than myself.

I felt queasy, I really didn't want to talk to the three that were on their way. They always made me a little nervous.

"All day tomorrow, you will get ready to leave. Go around as normal. Speak to people you would see on the streets do whatever you would normally do. Even something like grocery shopping, if you need to, things like that. Shikaku will clean out your apartment after you leave. I'll probably have some others go with him. So if you have last words for me, or him, put a note in your closet."

I nodded. The only people I got to say goodbye to be the two that stood in front of me, so I would make sure to do that.

"I will be the one to retrieve the note from the closet; I won't let anyone else get to it." He told Tsunade and looked to me with a smile. "To be clear however, you know the consequences when you get back to the village?"

"Yes, I do. But I want to do this mission, the death of Orochimaru and his followers could be vital for many people's safety. And the chance of getting Sasuke back…" I paused. "And if he doesn't come back. I will see him as none other than a threat. And eliminate him."

The words were hard to say. I couldn't spit them out and it hurt a bit to say them, but that was what I had to do. I had to think of Uchiha Sasuke as none other than a treat to me, the villages, and everyone in them.

Shikaku looked to me ready to say something but was interrupted by a knocking at the door.

"Come in." Tsunade said. Koharu, Homura, and Danzou walked in.

"The girl accepted this mission?" Koharu asked as soon as she walked in the door.

"Yes." Tsunade sighed.

"Then we wish for something else to be put into the mission, if you refuse, then we will not let this mission take place." Homura spoke up.

"Really? And what's that?"

"Full contact and teamwork with the spy Uchiha Itachi." Homura stated.

Wait. What?

"I already told you two, that is a terrible idea."

"Then I am afraid the mission will not take action. We want this to happen so that Uchiha can get back on track on spying on the Akatsuki. However, like the assignment on Uchiha Sasuke, he too should be eliminated if he chooses to not work with the girl." Koharu said.

"Sasuke is already on the path to killing him why would Sakura have to?" Shikaku asked.

"Like we said. Sakura and Itachi will share their information with each other."

"A back up." Tsunade said angrily standing. "You want him to serve as a back up, just in case Sakura would die."

"We must look at all possibilities." Danzou finally spoke. "And it's just like Shikaku said, should Sasuke kill Itachi, Sakura will have the information that he collected. His death wouldn't matter, because Sakura would have the information."

"So Sakura is the back up?" Tsunade asked still angry.

"More like a back up to each other."

"Should one die the other has their information."

"Wait!" I said getting annoyed.

Everyone stared at me looking annoyed that I disrupted the conversation.

"Why would I work with Itachi?" I asked. "He's a traitor to the village!"

"Yes, and in a day so will you be called a traitor around the village." Danzou stated.

"But I don't understand!"

"Uchiha Itachi is a spy working for us inside Akatsuki, although information from him is rare he still shares information, such as information on all the members, and the whereabouts of them, old hideouts that we can investigate, and occasionally information on plans and missions they have, but that kind is scarcer."

"Why would you work with someone like that!? He killed his whole clan!"

"On orders." Danzou stated.

"WHAT?!" I exclaimed.

"She's right what are you talking about?!" Shikaku said angrily taking a step towards Danzou.

"The whole Uchiha clan was planning to try and take over the village for themselves. No one knew when it was coming. So us, and the Third ordered him to kill the entire clan. Well more me than them." Danzou said.

"And Sasuke?"

"We would've killed him but, Itachi threatened us not to otherwise he would expose the truth."

The fact that they said it so easily that they would've killed Sasuke in a heartbeat if not for his older brother protecting him.

"And then we told him that he would have to act as a traitor to the entire village. Sasuke was a witness, meaning he knew that Itachi did it. So Itachi left, we had one final plan though. And told him to join Akatsuki and become spy for us." Homura said. "He of coarse said yes."

I got annoyed that they would throw so many lives away just to make their life easier.

"How could you do that to him? Make him do all of that?"

"In a way, we are having you do the same. You are willingly becoming a traitor." Danzou told me.

I gritted my teeth I knew what he was saying was true. I was just a well being told to do something for the village's sake and accepting it on my own free will. The only life that would be brutally affected was my own.

"Do you accept doing this? Working with Itachi?" Homura asked me.

"You do realize even if she denies I'm still going forth with the mission." Tsunade told the three.

"Then she really would be acknowledged as a traitor, meaning after the mission renders successful, we will refuse to let her come into the village." Kohura said to Tsunade quite rudely.

"I'll do it then." I said to all of them. "If I ever want to get back into the village and not be a rogue on the run from everyone, I'll have to. I will work with Itachi."

The three that entered a while before smiled at me approvingly.

"Excellent." Homura said before turning to leave the room. Kohura followed and Danzou kept his eye on me for a few seconds before doing the same as they did.

We spent the next two hours going over the mission and speaking about the things I would need to know and a full story about Itachi. We went over the details and I asked questions still amazed by all the information I had just learned.

After the meeting I left the office in a daze. Was I really doing this? Leaving the village as a traitor? Hurting a lot of people in the process, I couldn't help but think that this was for the good of the cause, for everyone. Orochimaru's death, Sasuke's return, and the death of many followers. But of course the fact that I would maybe even have to kill Sasuke stumped me. Would I be able to even do it?

That whole day I did nothing but sit in my house. And after I noticed it got dark I went to bed. I didn't eat one bite of food that whole day.

* * *

Morning did come. Even though I didn't want it to.

Today was my last day in the village and I wanted it to go on forever so I wouldn't have to leave the village. I could stay here and be normal and have friends. Most likely out there the closet friend I would have is Sasuke.

I got up from my bed and showered. Realizing, who knows when I'll shower next. I had only a hunch that the hideout that I was at was still the one they were using and if it wasn't I didn't even know what I would do next.

I changed into my regular ninja clothes and stared into a picture of my parents. So they would come home from their mission to find that their only daughter has betrayed the village in seek of power and will never return. At least that was the story that would be told to them.

I couldn't tell them anything so I wasn't even going to bother leaving a note. I didn't leave one for anyone except, a small one for Tsunade and Shikaku to see. They were going to be my only friends when I return. Even though I'm sure Naruto would try and act normal around me.

I even remembered when he asked if I was going to leave the village and I told him no. Well that was before the mission. And even at the time I couldn't tell if my answer was the truth or not.

I actually didn't want to leave my house I feared that I would come off as being strange or like I was acting weird and then be questioned multiple times about my behavior and I really didn't want that to happen. But Tsunade and Shikaku told me to go and act like I normally would. Hang out with friends and all that.

So I fastened my forehead protector on the top of my head for the last time and walked out of my house.

I decided maybe it was better to not seek out friends and instead just walk around and if they came around then I would talk to them. So that's what I did.

I enjoyed a dango.

And I didn't see one person. And then I remembered. Everyone was gone a mission.

I didn't do anything the rest of the day I sat at home and slowly packed a bag I was going to take with me.

It didn't really have much in it and when I came across my Team 7 picture I stared into the eyes of everyone. I knew that I couldn't take it with me. That it would just get in the way to I turned it down. So I couldn't look at it anymore for the duration that I was here.

I took a piece of paper and started to write.

_These are my last words before going off and joining him. _

_I want to say thank you to everyone. Especially you, Tsunade._

_I do have a sort of wish. If I die, I want you to tell Naruto everything. And that I am truly sorry for leaving him just like Sasuke. I wanted to make things right, bring him back, and have the determination to do so, just as much as Naruto has._

_And I want to do something that is beneficial to so many people. Kill Orochimaru and his followers._

_I am truly and completely nervous on joining, and meeting Uchiha Itachi. _

_I have so many more things to say but I'm running out of room. _

_I want my parents to know that I love them, tell them that please, if I do die._

_And finally I want to say thank you for this mission, Shikaku, you made the plan just for me. Which means you believe that I could actually do all of this. Even bring back Sasuke. _

_So thank you._

I folded the letter up and put it in the coat pocket of the first thing he would see if he opened my closet.

I looked to the clock it was almost ten at night. I frowned realizing that time flew by faster than I wanted it to.

I grabbed my bag and walked out of my house for the last time, for awhile.

When I reached the village gates I took a deep breath. Seeing the other side of the gate. The one step I was about to take would make me a rogue ninja. A traitor.

On the way here I saw people being happy. And in the crowd was Genma and Hazuki being happy and looking like they were enjoying each other. I couldn't help but grin at him being happy and then in a couple hours he would learn that I, was gone.

I took another breath and stepped out of the gate.

I was officially a traitor to The Village Hidden in the Leaves.

* * *

Naruto, Kakashi, Sai, and the temporary blonde kunoichi to their team ran through the trees almost nearing the Leaf Village. The mission they were on was a quick one and all four of them were completely happy about that.

Naruto however, the whole mission seemed to drag on and on for him, even though it only took maybe a day and a half.

The whole time he had his mind on Sakura, wondering why Tsunade wasn't allowing her to go on missions.

She was out of the hospital.

She wasn't injured anymore. That was just an excuse used for people who didn't know about the mark.

And yet. She wasn't here.

Naruto knew it was on Kakashi's mind more than his own.

More so, Kakashi couldn't get his head around the little meeting him and Naruto interrupted, between Shikaku, the Hokage herself, and Sakura.

He knew it was probably nothing and perhaps they were asking her about Orochimaru, and his abilities.

But Kakashi couldn't shake the feeling that something terrible was going to happen, very, very soon.

* * *

I ran through the trees trying to make as little noise and as little chakra I could use.

I ran through the trees making the branches shake while I hit them with my sides. I couldn't chance it going a normal route on the tops of the tall branches. There were people out on missions and it would not be good, if I ran into each and every team coming back into the village.

I hoped that I would get a clean run without seeing anyone.

If I did I would maybe have to harm them just to get through. And I didn't want to start the mission off on that.

I still wished that I saw Naruto one last time, and Kakashi, and even Sai. But I had to deal with the fact now that I was a traitor and I won't be able to see them for a very, long time.

I moved my hand to the bandages on my neck, and pulled them all off in one move and I sent them to the ground as I ran.

There was no need to hide the mark anymore. I took a deep breath and picked up my pace, I was a good distance away from the village now. And the more I thought about it the more I was beginning to not care if someone saw me.

That way it could be more clarified that I was betraying the village.

* * *

"Do you feel that?" Kakashi asked his team, as they ran through the forest on their way back to the village.

Sai stared straight ahead without making any emotion apparent. Naruto looked with a look of confusion, and Ino didn't say a word.

"I've noticed it for awhile." Sai said finally after a few long seconds of silence.

Kakashi felt the chakra before, but as he recalled that person isn't supposed to be on missions, she should be resting.

"It's Sakura." said Sai.

Kakashi knew that he was absolutely right. It was Sakura. But what was she doing away from the village?

"Let's meet up with her." Kakashi said.

"I thought she wasn't aloud to do missions?" Ino said confused.

"I just want to make sure she is fine." Kakashi told them and he dropped down with the three following his lead in a few seconds they would come to meet Sakura.

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Kakashi could see her pink hair from where he was and she looked right up meeting his eye.

She stopped when they got a few feet away from them, meeting in the middle of the forest.

"Sakura, I thought you were supposed to be resting?" Kakashi asked her. Naruto who looked like he was going to be sick had an idea on what was going on. Sakura didn't answer immediately she stood and stared.

"Something came up." she responded.

Ino, had now noticed that the bandages from her neck were gone. She must have healed. Ino thought. But there was surprisingly no scar from her kunai wound.

"So a mission?" Sai asked her.

Sakura stayed stolid and stared forward at Sai and glancing over at Naruto who looked more pale and less loud than normal.

"No." she answered simply.

"You should head back with us Sakura." Kakashi said getting annoyed, finally taking a guess on why she was out here. "People will start to get worried."

"I'm sure I'll be fine." she told them.

"YOU SAID YOU WOULDN'T!" Naruto yelled aloud suddenly.

"Things change." Sakura answered to his outburst.

"WE WON'T LET YOU LEAVE AND GO TO THAT BASTARD."

Kakashi and Naruto looked mad, and annoyed. Sai had no emotion, and Ino looked more confused than ever.

Sakura rolled her eyes and smirked.

* * *

_And the chapter is done! Yay!_

_Like always new chapter every Friday!_

_Oh. one more thing before I go!_

* * *

**Response to reviews**: The only character I will write in first person is Sakura, the rest of the character when I write about what's happening with them will be in third. And if you didn't mean my character jumping and I looked past a mistake and started writing third when I should be writing in first or the other way around. Sorry. :( But thanks for telling me!

Thanks everyone who said they enjoy it! I really appreciate it!

Keep reviewing!

* * *

_**As always please review!** The reviews make me smile! Even bad ones..._

_Which is odd on my part that I smile at those. But I don't think I got really a bad review just on my inability to see my mistakes..._

_Oh well._

_See you next Friday! Same place. Probably not the same time!_


	9. Chapter 9

Happy Friday!

Thanks for all the FAVORITES!

**Please review!**

They bring smiles!

Well so do favorites...

:)

* * *

Chapter 9

* * *

I do not own Naruto

* * *

This was bad. I was only maybe a half hour into my mission and I was already hurting the people I cared for. And I really didn't want to hurt them any more.

I mentally took a deep breath. "If you four could move out of my way that would be helpful." I said not letting the emotion pour out into my voice.

"What's happening!?" Ino shrieked.

"I don't know." Sai said.

"On the mission with Shikaku, Orochimaru gave Sakura a curse mark, on the back of her neck. " Kakashi stated. "And it seems she's leaving the village."

"That would be correct." I said staring at Kakashi, with a grin plastered on.

The wind started to blow and the trees shook in the wind. I was getting a bit cold from the chilly air. I guessed that it was going to start raining soon just perfect.

"Why are you doing this Sakura!?" Ino yelled in a high pitch tone of voice.

"Unlike you I'm doing something about my weakness. Orochimaru can help me with that problem." I said with a smile. "I'm only helping myself."

Naruto gritted his teeth in anger. "You're not weak! You don't need Orochimaru!" Naruto yelled at me.

I stared straight at Naruto. He was extremely angry. And it stung that I was the one that was making him so angry.

"This is what I need to do for myself." I told him. "It has nothing to do with any of you; you should mind your own business."

"THAT'S RIDICULOUS! You're my best friend! Ino's friend, a friend of Sai's and Kaka-Sensei's student. We all care about you!" Naruto yelled. "This has everything to do with us!"

I gritted my teeth in anger. "Just move out of the way Naruto!"

"NO!" Ino screamed "We're taking you back with us to the village!" she yelled at me. "Do you really want to become someone like Sasuke-kun! Sakura!"

"Don't put me in the same category as him!" I yelled over. "We're completely different!" I screamed.

It was true we were different, he went to Orochimaru for power, to kill his brother and I, I went for the mission, at least that was what I was telling myself. In all truth, maybe, I did want to go to Ororchimaru for the sake of power.

"Not if you run off and abandon the village and your friends! You're exactly the same!" she angrily shouted back to me.

"We have different reasons, for going to Orochimaru, mine of which is none of your concern!"

"If you're going because you think you're weak, you've just got to be kidding! Sakura! You aren't weak at all!"

"Coming from the girl who can't do anything, the girl who spends more time on her appearances rather than her own life and survival! You're the weak one! I'm the one who is doing something about it!" I snapped. "Now move out the way!"

"No! We're taking you back to the village!" Naruto shouted out.

"Fine. We'll do this the hard way then." I mumbled.

I took a kunai with the formula for the fourth's jutsu. It would work to my advantage. No one here knew about it. I never used it in a spar because, I wanted to focus more on taijutsu, and ninjutsu, ninjutsu was the main thing that I need the most work in. And the mission I used it with Shikaku was the first mission I got to use it in.

I sighed, realizing that I was going to have to hurt these people, the ones I cared for so much. But I had no choice.

I threw the kunai towards Ino, knowing her reaction would be to catch it. I transported to the kunai, two inches from her face, grabbed it and sent a kick right for her side, sending her down to the forest floor.

I received confused and shocked looks from Sai and Naruto. Kakashi's face a mixture of shock and something else, but he wasn't surprised by the speed I just used, after all he was around this jutsu and speed so much when he was a genin.

"I'm sure you're familiar with the jutsu, Kakashi." I looked to him with a smirk, not adding Sensei behind his name anymore made me feel rude and not even his student, but it had to be done, I had to detach myself from him as much as I could. He wasn't going to be with me anymore to protect me. "A jutsu that even you, my sensei, couldn't even begin to master."

"How?" he asked.

"Genma and Raido. They seemed to think that I would have a knack for the jutsu, turns out they were completely correct." I told him turning to look the three in the face. "Even they needed the third person on their team to use the jutsu. It only took me a couple months and I had it mastered, all by myself even."

Naruto gritted his teeth and charged at me randomly with a punch getting ready in the air. He went to swing the hard punch he mustered, but I grabbed his fist mid-air and gripped down. Hearing the bones in his hand brake. I grinned at him, I had to get him unconscious, he was the biggest problem here. I pumped chakra to my fist and punched him the stomach, not hard enough to kill, letting go of his now broken hand, which was now accompanied by broken ribs, and sending him flying into the tree behind him.

"Stop this Sakura." Sai said. "What happened to rescuing Sasuke-kun?"

"That's in the past." I snapped. "Now, it's different."

I threw the kunai I had thrown at Ino towards Kakashi, knowing he would dodge it. When he did, it was soaring back towards Naruto. I transported and caught the kunai, three feet in front of Naruto.

Quickly I made hand signs, I was going to use a genjutsu, nearly impossible to get out off, and with Naruto's chakra control it he wouldn't get out of it at all. But when he would go back to the village Tsunade would get him out of it no problem. Sorry, Naruto.

I touched his forehead and sent him into the genjutsu. Unfortunately from using that specific jutsu my chakra depleted greatly, and Tsunade stressed that it was a last resort only.

Now that I got rid of him, I could take care of the other two. Did that sound bad?

I turned to face the others to see Ino up back on the tree branch, panting, and cut up. I sighed.

"I thought I took care of you?" I sneered. I was actually getting annoyed, why couldn't she just stay down there, defeated? Now I had to fight her more, and cause more injuries to my childhood best friend.

"STOP IT, SAKURA!" she screamed.

"Oh, will you just shut up already. This is happening, Ino. Whether you like it or not."

"No, you don't need him, and if I have to beat some sense into you myself, I WILL."

"Well, aren't you acting all big and mighty." I joked.

"Just drop this stupid phase Sakura! It's just the stupid curse mark affecting you!" she snapped. "Don't do this! Don't hurt everyone just like Sasuke did! Stop being stupid! Can't you see that you are betraying the entire village?!"

"Of course I do." I said. The three looked at me with shock. "What? You thought I was actually being controlled or something ridiculous like that? That Orochimaru decided to fuck with all of you? I'll have you know that this was my decision, and mine alone." I told them. "So shut it." I said and threw the kunai past the two and straight for Ino.

I tackled her to the ground and took a kunai to her throat.

"I'm thinking if your even worth killing." I sneered and took the kunai straight to her stomach. Forcing it in she screamed in pain. A cut left on her neck from the quick movement from her throat to her stomach. My eyes burned, why did this have to be so hard?

I took my palm to her forehead making her unconscious with a medical ninjutsu. Sorry, Ino.

I took a moment to collect myself and sent chakra to my eyes to clear them up, they would see the red in my eyes if I turned around now.

I rose from her body and turned to face the remaining two. It was defiantly a strange feeling, taking them down without another thought, and saying these things to them without thinking twice. But it was something that came along with the mission.

Sai remained stolid staring me right down in the eyes. I had to take him out next, then Kakashi. I was going to send Sai into the same genjutsu I put Naruto in, no matter the effect that would claim me afterward, leave Kakashi in a small one, giving me time to run off.

Knowing Kakashi he would pick to save and help his teammates rather than run after me. I took a breath. I had to end this quick.

I ran towards Sai with the genjutsu prepared, all I had to do was touch him, and he'd be done for. He blocked my kick with his own and that done him in. He fell to the forest floor like Ino did awhile ago, to anyone else it looked like he just fainted randomly. Taking the chance, and not underestimating Sai, he was trained by Danzou, and a part of the organization, Root. He might be quick to come out of the genjutsu.

I went towards Kakashi, unfortunately for the genjutsu I was going to put on him, touching him wasn't as easy, I needed to hold him in a still position for five seconds. I debated just to do the easier one, the one that would possibly make me unconscious for a couple days for using it a total of three times, and making him unconscious for while, but Ino needed medical attention, so that plan was foiled, besides he would take me back to the village as unconscious body and the mission would result in failure.

We sent kicks and punched at each other but I took the chance when it came.

I grabbed his wrist and sent my chakra through his body making him paralyzed. "What are you doing?!" he yelled, realizing at that moment, movement was not an option.

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"Goodbye, Kakashi." I said.

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He fell over, his body lay lifeless on the tree, the genjutsu taking effect.

I panted hard nd my vision turned blurry for a quick second. I couldn't tell if it was because of the tears welling in my eyes or the fact I was very low on chakra.

I looked over towards Naruto, his back up against the tree, passed out, Sai was on the ground the same, and Ino furrowed her brow in pain.

* * *

I ran off the fastest I have ever ran to get away from them, Kakashi would wake up soon, so I needed to get a move on. I masked my chakra completely taking more precautions. I couldn't afford to run into someone else.

The stinging pain began on my mark. I used to much chakra and the seal was trying to activate itself, the pain was faded and distanced thanks to Kakashi's seal but soon Orochimaru would have that seal taken off and I would feel the pain full time.

Tears started to fall from my eyes, the toll taking on me, from speaking that way and trying to actually kill them.

They went easy on me, I knew that, even that stung a bit, it was like they couldn't even take me seriously.

But the pain continued to hit me continuously, their body's dropping to the ground form me hurting them.

The tears flowed from my eyes.

I wanted Kakashi to wake up soon to take them to the village, to cure them, so they could live, and I could see them in perfect health when I came back to the village. That is if they let me. Or even come near me.

I'm so sorry, everyone.

* * *

Tsunade walked with a quick step through the halls of the hospital. Sakura has been gone for a mere four hours and the hospital staff was already falling apart.

Tsunade was getting so many messages about people getting sick this, what medicine should we use that, and people coming and telling her that it was an emergency but when she got their it turned out to be absolutely nothing. Something an intern could handle.

Tsunade sighed. There were people running around shouting about Sakura being late, where's Sakura, she's not answering the messages, and what are we going to do without her, Tsunade was ready to kill all of them.

It's like they didn't even know how to be a doctor, she really needed to crack down on the curriculum for the classes, the only one with her head on straight was Hazuki, a woman Sakura had insisted on teaching her a few things.

Thank god someone was sane.

Hazuki was directing many people on how to do their jobs, she, Tsunade thought, would be come the replacement for Sakura. Tsunade was thankful that Sakura trained Hazuki.

The only reason Tsunade had even come down is that she was asked personally by one the patients. No other information was given to her at the time. When she got to the hospital she learned she was requested by Hatake Kakashi.

Last time she remembered she sent them on a mission a group of genin could do. She didn't think that him and his team would be coming home hurt.

She sent all of the people that were friends or close with Sakura on missions even if they were idiotic. Sakura needed time away from her friends to think about the mission.

The nurses were now running around more frantically.

Geez, did she have to do everything herself, she was practically keeping calm for every worker in this damn building. Minus Hazuki.

When she reached the end of the hall she walked in to see Naruto and Sai on beds by the window, Kakashi in a chair, and Ino on the third bed in the corner. This is was one of the hospital's larger rooms, usually used for ANBU, or private patients, who had a lot of money.

"Tsunade." Kakashi said rising from his seat.

"You called." She said annoyed.

"You need to help them." There was a tone in his voice that worried Tsunade. More quiet and…sad.

"Why what's wrong with them?" She said confused, as far as she was concerned they looked fine, just passed out.

"Genjutsu."

"Ah." Tsunade walked up to Sai's bed and put her hand over his forehead. Sai's eyes slowly fluttered open. Tsunade did the same to Naruto.

Tsunade had a strange feeling about this.

"Tsunade, may I speak with you outside?" Kakashi asked.

Tsunade looked to him and then walked out the door signaling him to follow.

When the door was closed to the room, there was no talking, only silence. The nurses and doctors rushed around them, their frantic talking was the only thing that was heard. For awhile Kakashi looked down to the ground his hands in his pockets.

"Well?" she asked.

"It's Sakura…" Kakashi sighed. "On our way back we saw her, it seems she decided to go to Orochimaru."

This was going to be harder than Tsunade thought. She had to completely act mad and angry, and like she was shocked, like she didn't already know this. So how was she going to play this? Tsunade gave a sigh.

"I know." She said to Kakashi. She didn't express any emotion, she figured it'd be better to just gamble it and wing this whole conversation on a whim, the first thought that came to mind was going to do the trick.

Kakashi's face turned to shock. His eyes wide, with a tiny glint of anger.

"What?"

"She left a note." Which was in fact true.

"She did?"

"On my desk, the time I got to it though, she was already long gone. I sent ANBU to track her but she is masking her chakra to well and covering her tracks like a pro. Sakura is gone, so I'll have to be forced to take drastic measures."

"Drastic measures?" Kakashi asked. "What do you mean?"

Tsunade asked herself the same question. "As of tonight, Sakura is now classified and a missing-nin, she has been entered in the BINGO book and she will be named a traitor to the shinobi villages. I'm sorry, Kakashi, but since we've already been through this with Sasuke, the villages will not understand leeway and a mission or two to try and bring her back. I have told all the villages that if she is spotted she should be stopped, arrested and treated like they would any other traitor."

"WHAT!?" came a shout from inside the room. The door opened up to reveal Naruto. He was standing behind the door listening the entire time, Tsunade assumed.

"That's all you're going to do!?" he shouted. Nurses passing by were now staring. "We should be searching for her right now!" Naruto screamed and he stomped off down the hallway. Tsunade grabbed him by the collar stopping him in his tracks.

"You're not going anywhere. I have contacted the other villages and they are keeping an eye out for her."

"I can't just sit here!" Naruto yelled. "Besides, those villages and people might kill her!"

"She is already past the border, she will soon be reaching Orochimaru, unfortunately there is nothing more we can do."

"Shut up!" Naruto yelled. "There has to be something."

Tsunade knew she wasn't going to winning this battle if she told Naruto she was going to casually do nothing.

"I am already having Shikaku round up a team to head out, Naruto, what I meant is there is nothing you, who are already injured, can do."

"Let me go!" Naruto pouted angrily.

"No! Get back in your room and rest." Tsunade snapped and stomped away.

This was for sure going to be harder than Tsunade initially thought. First of all she had already screwed up, saying she wasn't going to send a team out to look for her, but then said Shikaku was out doing so, he was doing something that involved Sakura, he was cleaning out her house, and waiting for her parents to come home to break the news.

But, she'd have to be more careful from now on.

* * *

"EH?" came the voice from the tube.

"I'm letting you out for a short mission." Orochimaru said.

"Hm? With who?"

"Isamu, Kuro, and Takara."

"No thanks."

"It wasn't a question."

"Fine… anything to get out of here."

Orochimaru hit a button on the computer next to the tube, the top of it opened up and the water began to move around. Two arms came from the top of the water, out of absolutely no where but the rest of the body was invisible, transparent in the water. The arms reached the rim of the tube the arms pulled up the now visible body. The man jumped out of the tube and onto the floor.

Silver hair, purple eyes, and sharpened teeth. "AHHHH!" he let out loudly stretching his arms and legs. "It feels nice getting out of that."

The man that came from the tube turned around to face Orochimaru.

"So what's this mission? He said taking his hands to his hair and began ringing it out. "Is it stupid? Cause I don't feel like doing something dumb that's going to be so simple a dog's ass can do it."

"Geez, you're annoying."

"Hm?" the man turned around to meet the body that came with the voice that just spoke. "Oh, Isamu… I would tell you it's nice to see you but that would be a lie."

"Kind as always I see." Isamu said.

"Only to you." The man joked.

"WILL YOU PUT ON YOUR DAMN CLOTHES!" a woman with purple hair shouted.

"Takara, you seem nice today." The man said sarcastically.

"YOU FUCKING IDIOT YOU'RE STANDING HERE NAKED JUST PUT ON SOME CLOTHES."

"Oh?" he looked down at himself, he was indeed naked. "Oops."

"Are you too incompetent to put on attire in front of a lady…"

"Nice to see you too, Kuro."

"Now that you have all caught up, leave as soon as you can, they'll fill you in on the way." Orochimaru said to the still naked silver haired man, and then walked out of the room.

"So what is the mission anyway?"

"WILL YOU PUT ON SOME CLOTHES YOU IDIOT?"

"Oh, sorry."

* * *

And Chapter 9 is finished!

I'm excited to write the next chapter! Really, really am!

More so because Suigetsu will be in the chapter more, I just love him.

At this point I don't know if Sasuke will be.

See you next Friday!

**REVIEW! SHARE YOU THOUGHTS!**


	10. Chapter 10

Here is chapter 10.

Editing this was boring work.

_No lie._

_Thanks for the reviews!_

* * *

_I do not own Naruto_

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Chapter 10

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I ran on the tops of the trees getting faster and faster, by now I should be clear of everyone.

The only thing that was on my mind was whether they made it to the hospital in time to treat Ino. That's it. The fact that I could have killed one of my best friends was going to haunt me forever. I better get used to that feeling that stayed in the back of my head, considering that I might have to kill Sasuke down the road at some point.

I was getting close to the hideout. And I was starting to feel a little sick, almost ready to puke. I took a deep breath and ignored the feeling.

And another feeling came on top of that. Four people heading my way.

So who was it going to be this time? I had to duck and take cover, away from the tops of trees in plain sight of the people heading this way, I jumped down from the trees and began to run on the ground hoping not to be noticed. They could be more Leaf, or other village shinobi, Tsunade made clear that the moment I left, all the villages would be informed of my treachery.

The four chakra signatures continued to run, and they were getting closer and closer in front of me. Holding my breath I felt them stop. I stopped as well. Hoping they just stopped to take a quick brake or something. I took small breaths trying to be unnoticed, my chakra already masked I hoped for the best.

I really couldn't fight anymore people.

"She's close." Came a voice. It was one I never heard. No one came to mind, so was it another village?

"We need to find her quick or old snakey is going to be pissed." A voice mocked.

Old snakey?

"Thanks for stating the obvious, idiot." This time it was the voice of a woman.

Could they possibly be from Orochimaru and they were looking for me. I honestly didn't want to take the chance. How did he even know that I was coming? Maybe it was some weird thing with the mark, but I didn't understand what. It was sealed by Kakashi so it shouldn't have control over me or my mind.

"Found you."

I yelped in horror when I heard the voice directly next to me. How the hell did he sneak up on me?!

"I'm assuming you're Sakura." He said. "My name is Suigetsu. And we are your escorts."

I looked around and three others dropped down from the trees. The woman I heard speaking had purple hair, she had the face that looked like she was a bitch and she seemed to have very revealing clothing on.

The man I knew as, Suigetsu, was also slightly weird. He had s stupid smile on his face that showed his sharpened teeth that reminded me of Zabuza and that shark guy from Akatsuki. His silver hair framed his face and he had bright purple eyes with a matching shirt to go with.

"Get up we need to get back." One of the other men snapped. He seemed the eldest of the four and he had black hair that was styled like Naruto's and his finger and toe nails were painted a pale blue.

The other guy gave him a glare. "You should be ashamed of your attitude towards the lady." He spoke, he was incredibly tan, long black hair and a scar on his left eye that reminded me of Kakashi, he face was just angry to begin with.

All I could say about these four were they were a bunch of weirdoes.

"Will you two shut the hell up!" the woman yelled.

The man who called himself Suigetsu sighed. "Anyone following ya' pinky?"

"I have a name, and no, not anymore, anyway." I told him, I think I was more irritated with the nickname "Pinky" than anything else.

"Not anymore?"

"No, I ran into my t… my old team. They tried to stop me, but they didn't take me seriously enough."

"So you killed them?"

"No. I rendered them all unconscious." I said, geez, I'm not that cold hearted, to kill them. The way I escaped actually kind of reminded me about how Sasuke left, knocking me unconscious and rushing off before I woke. In this case it was a fight, and the only one that really honestly took me seriously was Ino. Kakashi barely fought me.

"We should get going… her village may have sent shinobi coming this way. And I don't feel like doing extra work." Said the man with the painted nails.

"Right!" Suigetsu said. He took me by the wrist and started dragging me in the direction they came from.

"Hey!" I yelled trying to loosen his grip. "Let go!"

"Sorry, Pinky, we're in a hurry."

"I can walk and even run by myself you know!"

"You just said you rendered your entire team unconscious, you're probably tired, and you're almost out of chakra." Painted finger-nail man said. "Suigetsu won't let go anyway, so you'll have to deal."

"Ha! You might be his lucky ticket out of that shitty tube, he'll drag you if he has to." The woman said to me.

Tube…?

"Shut up Takara!" Suigetsu scolded.

We started running now faster than I thought we'd be running , from my memory we were almost at the hideout. This seemed more like a dream rather than reality. Like everything was happening so fast.

* * *

"Come in." the Hokage said from her desk. In walked Kakashi still with a frown on his face. "What is it?"

"I was only curious." He said walking right up to her desk. "What did the note say that Sakura left for you?"

"Oh." Well this Tsunade was defiantly not prepared for. "Just that she was leaving the village to go to Orochimaru."

"I really honestly don't believe that."

Tsunade sighed, she knew sooner or later Kakashi would start catching a whiff of something. "Oh, and why do you think she left?"

"I think she sent herself on a suicide mission, trying to get Sasuke back. This of course is Sakura, she is smart. So why would she do something... something this dumb! On her own even, so there has to be something else..."

"Kakashi, it's nice that you don't want to accept the fact that Sakura left…. And you're obviously saddened by it, but like you said, she's smart she wouldn't do that."

"Maybe you're right. But I can't shake the feeling that she's fooling us all." Kakashi said getting ready to walk out the door. "She'll probably surprise us all and come walking in with Sasuke…" he said.

"Perhaps, but she still left the village, joined the enemy."

"You know I'm correct, and I have a very good feeling that you set this whole thing up." He stared straight into Tsunade's eyes now. "Between you and me, I let her go." he said, turning the knob on the door. "Just so you know, you better put my name on the list of need-to-know for this operation. Don't worry I won't tell anyone." Kakashi turned and walked out of the Hokage office.

Tsunade gave a sigh. She knew that she should have told Kakashi from the start, she figured he'd figure it all out, sooner or later, but not that quickly. At least he let her go, Tsunade was worried that she was going to run into someone, otherwise the mission would have failed and she would staring at Sakura in front of her all banged up from a full out fight with Kakashi.

She of course was neither going to tell Kakashi anymore details. Such as Sasuke's possible death. Or being in touch with Itachi. He already knew too much, no more people could know about this situation, that was for sure.

* * *

"Oh. Right." Suigetsu said and then suddenly stopped. I almost flew right into him, if I wasn't paying attention I would probably be in pain about now and Suigetsu's back would've hurt very badly.

The rest of them stopped. And Isamu started mumbling something about how Suigetsu was some type of idiot. I heard him do that a lot. I guess those two just did not get along. I was pretty sure Suigetsu heard his mumbling though and just chose to ignore his remarks.

"You have to take this." He said shoving a small pill in my face, I took the pill in my hand, and just looked at it. "But wait." He said and then made hand signs and a barrel type object appeared. And from the looks of it, it seemed to be a coffin.

"What is it?" I said looking to the pill.

"A Mind… something." Suigetsu. "Just take it."

"Then what's the coffin for?" I said pointing to it.

"To put you in, it's easier trust me." he said. It almost looked like he was recalling memories of doing this before without a coffin.

"A coffin, you're putting me in a coffin."

"Yes."

I brought the pill up to my mouth. "Wait, what exactly is going to happen when I take this?"

"Uh. Well it'll activate the curse mark… but the power or something, of the curse mark awakening will kind, of, well. Kill you. Now take it." he said waving his hand to hurry me along.

"THIS IS GOING TO KILL ME?"

"Only for a short time." Suigetsu said with a annoyed tone, apparently my panicking about my death was annoying. "Just take the pill…"

"So, I'll be brought back to life?" I said confused.

"Yes, yes you won't die. This pill activates stage two of the seal. More like forces. Because of the seal spreading, you're body won't be able to handle it and then you'll die. Instantly. With this coffin and the barrier that will be put on, the effects of the seal will not kill you, that's why we're here, to make sure you don't die. Instead of you actually dying it's more like you're in a deep sleep, and I mean deep." Suigetsu said. I don't know what made me want to trust him but I did. In a way he reminded me of Naruto. I had really no choice in this whole pill taking thing anyway did I? "Take it." He said with a smile.

I nodded and then slowly brought the pill back up to my mouth, popping it in, and swallowing.

At first I felt nothing. And I thought it was going to be smooth sailing.

The curse mark began to burn more than it had ever burned before and my stomach started to twist itself into a not. My head started to get heavy and pound like I had the worst migraine you could ever think off. My eyes began to burn and tears of complete pain started to form. It felt like my organs were being ripped out one by one. There was a high pitched ringing in my ears. And it felt like my spine was beginning to break. I let out a blood curdling scream and then everything went dark, but I could still feel the pain that covered my entire body.

* * *

"WHAT?" Danzou yelled at the top of his lungs.

"How could you let him find out about this Tsunade." Homura said disappointed.

Tsunade sighed. Of course this was somehow her fault. Why wouldn't it be?

Just about two minutes ago she called Danzou, Homura, Koharu, and Shikaku into her office to tell them about the mishap with Kakashi. It didn't go smoothly, not that Tsunade thought it would go smoothly, but it was going downhill.

"What should we do?" Danzou asked.

"We should have the Yamanaka's dispose that part of his memory." Homura suggested

"Then the Yamanaka's would know." Koharu snapped at Danzou idiotic idea. "Besides can the Yamanaka even do that?" she said with a questioning tone.

For the third time Tsunade sighed.

"He should be sworn with secrecy." Danzou said. "Madam Hokage, let me place one of my seals on him."

Tsunade knew very well about those seals, he put one on Sai those nasty things left a seal on the tongue and if you talked about whatever the seal was protecting, you'd die, before the words left your mouth. Not to mention just thinking about talking about it will cause excruciating pain.

"Yes. I think that idea is better suited for this situation." Koharu said approvingly.

Shikaku stood there not really sure what to do, he didn't say anything the whole meeting, solely because he didn't think it was much of a problem. Kakashi was trustworthy in his opinion unlike these people who decide to barge in on everything little thing. He was sure Tsunade felt the same way too.

"I trust that Kakashi will keep this to himself." Tsunade stated.

"Hatake Kakashi is a loyal shinobi, don't think that we don't believe that, however, we should do it just as a precaution." Homura said.

Tsunade thought about this long and hard. She wasn't going to deny it was a bad idea, she would just remove the seal when the time came.

"I believe that this is the best decision on the situation. Shikaku?" Koharu looked to him with a look that told him she wanted him to approve of this to convince Tsunade.

"Even though, I trust Kakashi not to say anything, I think it is for the best." He said relaying the words the three wanted to hear. "However, I do not believe it is quite fair. To make it fair all of us should commit to the seal as well. Is there a way you can make it so we can talk about it among each other?" Shikaku said looking to Danzou. "Besides then everyone can trust each other much more easier."

"Well, yes."

"Then it's settled." Tsunade said. She made sure to say it before the others could get a word out. "We will do this all tomorrow. Right now I have too much desk work, and not nearly enough sake."

The three left the room, but Shikaku remained. "So you agree with my idea, or are you just saying that so you could get them to shut their traps?"

"A little bit of both." Tsunade said.

* * *

"Wakey, wakey!"

My brow furrowed, and my ears picking up the sound of a man's voice. Naruto? No. he wouldn't say that would he?

"Oi. Pinky, it's been almost a day."

I started to open my eyes and look to where the voice was coming from. There to the left of me, hovering over me actually was a tall silver haired, purple eyed Suigetsu.

"Oh… Good you're awake!" he said with a large smile. "Orochimaru made me your… I guess you could call mentor. I have to tell you all about it here, and then I'm supposed to take you to him." he stared down at me. "So what should I start with?"

Geez, he talked a lot. "Doesn't matter." I told him. My brain kind of fuzzy. I didn't remember much just pain and then I was suddenly here in the hideout.

"Hmmm. Let's see. Well, this is your room." He said looking all around.

It was small, I seemed to be laying on a bed, just plain cream colored sheets, there were no windows, and the light came from candles, and the only other thing in here that was furniture was a table, with nothing on it. I wasn't sure how I was going to live in here for such a long time. It was creepy.

I sat up and swung my legs over the bed.

"Uh. Don't worry about the crappy décor." He said with a laugh. "We are usually always moving to another location, you're either training or not even in the room at all, because of all the missions he sends you on."

"Missions?"

"Yeah." He said. "Well, sort off. It's more of an assignment, you don't get paid, you don't have a choice either, and if you ask… have in mind that he might lecture you for the next week, he might do his creepy experiments on you, and you may never see the light of day again."

"…Oh."

This was seeming going to be very exhausting. And a pain in my ass.

"Let's see. Basically the training program he makes you do once you get here will last for three weeks."

"Training program?"

"Yeah. You spend 5 days with a taijutsu specialist, 5 days with a genjutsu specialist, a week with a ninjutsu specialist and four days of your choice, usually everyone picks swords, or summoning jutsu. Or both. I just did swords. In those three weeks you will learn five genjutsus, two ninjutus, and you're taijutsu will rival that of a Kage. During the three weeks you probably will not be sleeping at all. Each day you'll probably get about two hours sleep. Each day will have three training sessions. I know you'll have fun." He said sarcastically, with a giant smile.

I sighed. Realizing that after these three weeks I think I'll be sleeping for three months.

"Right, gotta take you to Orochimaru now." He said taking my wrist and pulling me along, out the door, and into the hallway he kept pulling me along. Didn't this guy get that I could walk on my own?

We stopped at the end of the hallway and Suigetsu knocked on the door, quickly turned to me, smiled, and said, "Sorry, I can't come into the nest with you, I'll be out here though, so scream loud if anything happens."

I didn't like that he said that but I forced the thought that it was him trying to make a joke and be funny so I ignored it and tried not to dwell on it, and forced a smile out.

"Enter." Came the voice of Orochimaru behind the door. I took a deep breath and turned the knob opening the door. I walked in to the room, it was darker that any place else in the underground hideaway.

"Ah, I've been expecting you." Orochimaru said with a smile that sent tons and tons of shivers down my spine. "Let's get straight down to business shall we, unfortunately I'm leaving here soon, so I need to make this quick. I won't be back for a couple days." He starting to go on and say. "I just want to know a simple fact, did you come here with the full intention of someday destroying the village of Konoha?"

I stared for a minute. Destroying, the village. I never really even thought about what I was going to say when the subject came up. So I just simply winged it.

"No." I responded.

"No?"

"Yes, I came here with the intention of getting stronger, getting what you have to offer me, to prove that I too can be like everyone else and become one of the strongest shinobis who have ever lived, I'm tired of being not given a thought, not even considered strong, or maybe even a shinobi to some people. I want this for myself." I said. "But if destroying the village is something I have to do to obtain my goal, then I can assure you I will do anything."

Orochimaru smiled evilly and laughed softly. "You're much more fun than I thought you'd be."

* * *

"So you're not opposing this?" Shikaku asked Kakashi who was sitting strapped to a chair in a rather small room.

"No." Kakashi said simply. "I understand that you all want to keep this quiet."

Shikaku smiled and nodded, thanking Kakashi for his understanding.

Moments later Danzou walked in ready to perform the justu on everyone, Koharu, Homura, and Tsunade followed. "We will begin with Kakashi…" he said.

* * *

Suigetsu saw the door knob turn on the door, Sakura walking out and Orochiaru following. "Suigetsu, follow me."

Those words never comforted Suigetsu. When Suigetsu joined him he thought that he was going to get enough power and skill to become a Seven Ninja Swordsman and prove to all the idiots that called him weak and stupid and immature that he could do this, and he had enough skill to become one.

Of coarse he did though, gain that power, but made the mistake on telling Orochimaru that he'd do anything to get to that level.

And Orochimaru began pricking him like a pin cushion.

It was more than that though, electricity was sometimes shot through him, he would be stabbed sometimes endlessly, all because Orochimaru wanted the power he had, his ability to turn into water on a pure whim.

Suigetsu couldn't even begin to explain it, it was something his clan could do, a kekkai genkai he always assumed. Most of his clan was dead, the only one left was his mother, and he didn't know where she was.

He tested so many things, it's weaknesses, like electricity. What would happen if he was in the form of water and he was hit with electricity? Would he be able to still transform into water after continuous hours of being shocked by the electricity. Out of anything else that Orochimaru did to him electricity was defiantly the worst.

Endless hours of torture wasn't something he signed up for and he didn't even think of it when he told Orochimaru he would do anything for the power he could supply.

Now, he fully regretted ever making such a decision.

Suigetsu was in fact terrified of Orochimaru, after hours of torture and interrogation that questioned his ability, he didn't know how to do it he was just always able to do it. And that answer led to painful nights being beat to make the answer come out of his mouth. An answer he didn't even have.

He was always living in fear in this place. He tried to escape so many times which led to him being put into that tube. He couldn't get out of that thing. It was sealed tight and had some sort of barrier on it. Since the water that was in it had some sort of chakra quality he was always in his water form and the glass was way to hard to punch himself out even if he was in human form.

After awhile he gave up and lost hope.

When he was sent out on a mission of course he tried to escape again, which just led to more beatings and torture and more of electricity.

He wanted out. He wanted out bad. And his only hope was Sasuke.

The only person that even came close to him in this place. Everyone was afraid to talk to Suigetsu. He never understood why…

He was nice right?

He never found it out until later that Orochimaru told everyone that he was an unstable human being and could kill you in a blink of an eye.

He wanted to fix it, he really did… but after awhile it got to be normal everyday life. And he just didn't care anymore.

He just wanted the day to come when Sasuke would free him.

Orochimaru led him into a room. In the back of the room was a large table with straps to keep him still when Orochimaru did his experiments on him. He's been in this room twice.

"For the next few days you'll go without food or water." Orochimaru said.

Suigetsu knew the drill and went to the table. Kabuto came out of the dark corner like always and strapped him in.

"Kabuto, here, will be watching and recording what happens to you during this time." Orochimaru said. "I'm curious to see the effect on you. As well as this you will be receiving shocks every hour on the hour. Just to make things a little more fun." Orochimaru said leaving the room with a smile that made Suigetsu want to throw up.

"AGH!" Suigetsu screamed in pain as the first shot of electricity went into his body.

"Not to worry Suigetsu-kun. These walls are sound proof." Kabuto said walking away from the table as Suigetsu screamed out in pain.

He really hated it here.

* * *

Kakashi figured it out because...

1. The meeting he and Naruto walked in on a chapter or two ago. (I don't remember the exact one)

2. Sakura wanted power... she has power now...

3. She loves the village and everyone of her friends.

4. As much as she said she was done with the village and the people in it. She had a chance to kill Ino, and Naruto, maybe Sai.

5. She is smart, she would never go off and do this.

6. He let her go assuming the meeting was about a top-secert mission, and that's what the meeting was about, it was the only way Sakura would ever leave to go with Orochimaru.

Hope that helped :)

* * *

_Special Announcement..._

_A chapter will be on next Friday as planned... Aug. 23rd_

_However, chapter 12 will be updated on Sunday, Aug. 25th_

_Regular updates will be switched to every Sunday... due to school, and it'll just be easier for everyone..._

* * *

**PLEASE REVIEW!**


	11. Chapter 11

Whew. It was really hard writing two chapters this week.

I've been putting it off. And moaning that I didn't want to.

But I forced myself to.

Remember the next chapter will be this SUNDAY AND THE REGULAR UPDATES WILL MOVE TO EVERY SUNDAY DUE TO SCHOOL

It'll just be easier.

So. Here it is. The last chapter that will be posted on Fridays!

I'm sorry this took so long!

* * *

I do not own Naruto... obviously...

* * *

**Chapter 11**

* * *

When I got back to my room, the creepy, cold, boring room that I was going to be living in for awhile, I sat down on my bed and took a deep breath. Honestly I didn't think it was going to be this hard. I was away from friends, my family and I just wanted to be home with Tsunade training instead, or out with Naruto eating ramen, annoyed with Sai and his constant nickname troubles, even arguing with Ino or her parents.

But I had to keep up the act, that I didn't want any of that at all, the stuff that I wanted the most in the world, had to be nothing but dirt to me.

I wondered about Sasuke. He was somewhere in this building I knew it. And I wanted Suigetsu here, a familiar face that would keep me sane. Although I didn't know Suigetsu much he reminded me of Naruto so much, and maybe that was the real reason behind me wanting him here.

Before I left the room with Orochimaru he said that my training was going to begin, tomorrow. And that I should get some rest.

I lay in bed just staring to the ceiling.

Destroy the village.

Kill Sasuke.

Contact with Itachi Uchiha.

Just what I have I gotten myself into.

* * *

The next morning I woke up to pretty much the same room I fell asleep in, except the candles were lower and they were almost going to be burned out pretty soon. I rose from my bed still in the clothes that I left the village in. I had placed the bag I brought on the empty table and I stroked my hair, which needed a wash. Bathrooms. I needed a bathroom. And a shower. But where o' where could they be.

Guess I'll just have to wait for whoever was going to be training me in genjutsu. There was a knock at the door before I could even get up from the bed. I strode over and opened it.

"Training." The man said. He was the black haired man from before, the one who escorted me. I nodded and came out of my room. "First you need new clothing." He said and walked away.

Assuming I was supposed to follow, I did.

When he brought me to a room with a rather large door, he stopped and turned to me. "This is the bathroom. Inside are clothes waiting for you. You have an hour. I'll be waiting." He said and went off in the direction we came from.

I entered the door to reveal a rather large bathroom. Three smaller rooms inside. On one of the doors to the stalls was an outfit hung by a hanger.

Black pants going down to the ankle. A beige v-neck with sleeves, fishnets for underneath the shirt and knew shoes. I took the clothes and entered the door. Inside was a sink, with a mirror, a small chair and table, a shower and a toilet. I started to undress and get in the shower and I was done I changed into my new attire and dried my hair with a towel the best I could. And putting it into a ponytail that I usually had when I was working in the hospital. I was ready to go. It was strange though, not tying on my headband, it became part of my daily routine and suddenly that part of it vanished, it no longer existed. I now though had these clothes left, the ones that took me forever to come to a conclusion to buy. I could never decide on the right ones. And I took them and threw them out in the large trash bin outside the stalls. Taking a breath, I walked out of the bathroom.

The man was outside like he said with an apple and a glass of orange juice. He handed them to me without a word. I ate the apple happily after giving him a smile and downed the orange juice. I was starving before he gave me the food and still starving after I had gobbled down it all.

"I will be training you in genjutsu." He said. "My name is Isamu."

Right. The one that doesn't like Suigetsu much.

"Sakura." I told him.

"I know who you are." He responded coldly. "We start our first session right now." He told me and we continued down the hall way. "Another after lunch. And then the last after dinner." He paused as he directed me to the left down a different hallway. "Between those sessions you will be put through various chakra control training. And will be placed under a genjutsu after the sessions. You are supposed to break free from it. Everyday the genjutsu will get harder to break. And the number of genjutsu I place you each day will grow. Like tomorrow, two or three. The next most likely four. Until we reach the last day. It you do not break free of the genjutsu then we will start over again with it until you break it."

It sounded like I was going to have rough day. Multiple rough days.

We turned right down another hall and went up some stairs. Why was this place so damn confusing?

We walked up stairs until we reached a door. When Isamu opened it the light came through and it revealed trees all around and the sun just rising. "Let's begin. Lunch will not be until one. That gives us only eight hours."

_Only_. _Eight. Hours. _

That seemed more than enough time, for a first session.

* * *

I was frustrated. More frustrated than I think I ever was before in my life. It was lunch time and the moment Isamu relieved me of genjutu training I left and was now hoping I was going in the direction of my room.

If anyone tried to talk to me I think they would find themselves in the wall, begging for mercy. I was fuming. How could I? Someone who was naturally gifted with genjutsu so pathetically be out-matched and defiantly out-staged at the first training session?

First he had me perform the genjutsus I knew. Which was a total of two. After criticizing the jutsu and pointing out what I did wrong, the flaws the justus still had, and the fact that there wasn't nearly enough effort into them, he then began to talk coldly with me and treat my like a five year old and managed to fix the small flaws with my two genjutsus but still insisted that they needed more work and we will be practicing them every day on top of the others things he had me doing.

I took a deep breath and entered my room sitting on my bed. It would probably help to eat something but I had no clue even where to get food.

Maybe if I wouldn't have ran away from him so fast he would've told me and I wouldn't be here starving for food. I kicked myself mentally for allowing myself to do that. Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!

I took the pillow from my bed and angrily screamed into it.

Muffled under the scream was a knock at the door and I got up to answer it. This better be good! I thought to myself as I grabbed the door knob and turned it.

I swung open the door. To see Isamu holding a bowl of rice and a cup of tea that was steaming. "My guess is you don't know where the kitchen is yet?" he said with an irritated expression. "You could have asked."

"Thanks." I said simply and took the rice and tea without a smile. I walked into my room and set the things on the table.

"I'll be waiting." He said and walked off down the hallway.

I sighed. I was going to be stuck with him forever wasn't I? I was with him for not even a day and I was already sick of his nonchalant attitude. And him being all cold and irritated with every little thing.

I finished up my rice bowl and cup of tea feeling a little bit cooled down and walked out of my room , shutting the door behind me and made my way to the outside to meet with Isamu.

I was here almost a day and no sights of Sasuke….

Not to mention I had no clue how I was going to meet with Itachi….

I sighed walking up all the stairs to reach the outside.

Here we go with the second part of this torture.

* * *

It went better than the first. I'll give you that.

Not only were my genjutus not "complete and pathetically trash" anymore and "Are you sure you're a ninja?" not asked every hour.

It was now just simply. "Eh." And "You need more practice." We were getting somewhere.

I was tired. Had a massive headache. My chakra levels were not very well. And I was pretty sure I was going to pass out.

This time however instead of storming away, I waited and Isamu showed me to the kitchen. The walk was silent. Not only was the walk to kitchen confusing but I made eye contact with a bunch of people that could kill anyone with a twitch of the finger.

"Ignore them." He said as I made a very, very, scary man flash me an evil grin. "They just want to make you uncomfortable. And make you feel like you're inferior to them. If you ignore, they will seem to think they are inferior to you. Pretty much everyone here is dumber than a donkey's ass."

Did he just make a joke? And give me helpful advice?

I smiled back at him for the help. "Thanks." I meant it too and I didn't feel angry with him anymore.

"This is the kitchen." He said stopping a large door. "All you do is go in and take the food."

I nodded. I went through the doors, Isamu following me from behind, and took a quick glance around. There were people in there. More than I thought there would be. Some were just sitting there eating there not with each other though. It seemed more like no one had friends here or socialized. Maybe cause it was that no one had the time or maybe it was because they didn't like each other? Whatever it was it seemed like it was normal flow here, so I ignored it.

I walked up to a sort, of deli counter, and took the bowl of rice and cup of tea of one of the trays left out. "Is this the only thing you guys eat?" I asked Isamu. Quietly, almost as a whisper, because there was no sound in the kitchen just silence and small noises of people chewing.

"No. Lila, the woman who made the food died last week. They didn't find a replacement yet. I believe her body is still in the freezer."

"…How did she die?" I asked just a bit disturbed that the body of the chef was in the freezer for a week now.

"She tried to break up a fight and got caught in the crossfire." He replied calmly. "I think she was seventy-three."

"And she was trying to break up a fight?" I said shocked.

"Of course." He said it like there was no other answer to it.

I sat down and ate my rice, and drank my tea. I guess Isamu wasn't so bad as I thought he was. "You aren't going to eat?"

"No. I should mention, try not to eat a lot. Even if you're starving. There are times when we move to another hideout and we don't eat for days. It'll become easier to do so, if you don't eat everyday."

"You're just full of advice today!" I said with a smile finishing off my dinner.

"Don't get used to it." He said coldly. "Unfortunately, given my status with Orochimaru I'm usually not here. And if I am here I'm usually mad all the time."

"Oh…"

"After I'm done training you I'll be leaving for a different hideout. One that contains the lower level of Orochimaru's followers… Sorry to say, that most of them will be dead after I come." He said with slight disgust on his face. "I usually don't train people though. Orochimaru said he wanted me specifically to train you."

"So why did you join Orochimaru?" I asked.

When it came out I knew I said the wrong thing and he rose from the seat and left the kitchen. His face red, burning with anger. He slammed the door on the way out and everyone stared in the direction of the door and back at me. I sighed, rising up to put my dishes on the counter and left the kitchen. Ready to face the torture I was going to receive for doing that.

* * *

After the night training I went through I moaned getting into my bed. He was angry and he took it out on me, well I was my fault anyway…

He refused to let me leave until the two of my genjutsus were perfect, which in his words, now were.

It was now almost four in the morning. Suigetsu wasn't kidding when I would be getting two hours of sleep.

* * *

Naruto slammed his fist into a tree. It was almost four in the morning. He was tired but to upset to sleep. Life here was different without Sakura here. Naruto couldn't stand not seeing her here around anymore, not being able to go on missions with her anymore, and not being with her on his nights of eating ramen at Ichiraku.

Naruto fell onto the ground and put himself up against a tree. He didn't understand. More than anything he was angry…

She told him herself that she wasn't going to leave , that she would never to such a thing. But she ended up doing the very same thing she vowed not to. Naruto sat there with droopy eyes. He never really slept after she left. He was left awake at night thinking up new plans to try and get her back.

Most of which involved leaving the village without permission.

He sighed. His clothes were dirty, sweaty, and he really needed a shower. It felt more like he was living on the streets instead of a small apartment anymore. He was never home, ever. A few times he walked past Sakura's house to hear screaming and fighting. He assumed her parents were blaming each other for Sakura's leave.

He forced himself up from the ground, with the support of the tree. He was began to walk away from the training grounds and walked towards the village. He wanted nothing more but to see Sakura and this was all but nothing but a dream. But that wasn't going to happen. He knew it wasn't going to.

He walked towards his apartment but with no intention on going inside. He wondered how Ino was doing, last he heard she was released from the hospital this morning and was apparently suffering from some type of denial.

He didn't go near her house, he feared that he would only make it worse for Ino. Naruto frowned getting closer to his apartment. Naruto hadn't seen Kakashi since the day at the hospital, and he didn't dare go into Granny Tsunade's office, he would get upset to much because of Sakura and he'd just set himself up to get even more upset when his plans to rescue her would be turned down.

He felt terrible. How could both of his teammates do this? Why couldn't he stop either of them? It made him feel like shit. Like it was his fault. He knew it wasn't but some days he couldn't help himself.

Naruto sighed. He was defiantly going to save both of them. Sakura and Sasuke. Not matter what.

* * *

After the session I was just going through now, today was my last day with genjutsu. I didn't know what made me happier, getting away from genjutsu, or getting away from Isamu.

After these five days I was completely sick of him, during those five days I learned a grand total of five genjutsus. I was quite proud of myself.

I really wanted more than anything to sleep but that wasn't going to happen. Tomorrow was going to be my first day training with taijutsu, five days of that too. I sighed walking up the stairs for my last session.

Isamu was already up there waiting for me. "Let's get today over with." He said. "Cast one on me."

I nodded. Getting prepared for the jutsu I was going to throw at him.

"Ready?" I asked with a slight grin on my face.

"You know Sa…" he started to saw and then he stopped and fell to the ground on him knees. His eyes closed shut and hands up to his ears.

He fell for it, like I knew he would. One of the genjutu's I learned was simply casting one with just words, a move of the mouth sent them into a genjutsu showing them their worst nightmares and a high pitched sound in both their ears.

It took a couple minutes before Isamu snapped from the genjutsu and started breathing heavily, throwing up a bit from the technique. "Well, done." He said rising slowly from the ground. "Now, I must cast one on you. You have two minutes."

I nodded.

_I was falling. Fast and down. Everything was pitch dark and I couldn't see my hand if I put it in front of my face. Taking small breaths I didn't panic. I tried to cut off my chakra flow. Didn't work. Damn it. I calmed myself down more, trying not to get frustrated._

_"Sakura…" huh? I heard my name being said. It sounded more like the person who said it, was crying maybe._

_"Sakura…" I looked around. It was still pitch dark and I was still falling. I tired to cut off my chakra flow again. It still didn't work. I was probably running out of time._

_"Sakura…!" this time the voice spoke with more urgency. I looked around frantically but no one in sight._

_I felt water all over me, but it couldn't be explained, it didn't feel like water… Everything lightened up a bit now. And I looked to my hand which I put in the water. "Blood?"_

_I was now on the ground standing before a body. My medic instincts kicking in I rushed to the man and turned him over my hand getting full of blood from the man's wound. Sa…SAASUKE? It was him…_

_Dead and cold._

_"Sakura!?" I turned around to see Naruto, and Kakashi. "What did you do?"_

_"I, I could explain!" I said frantically._

_"You, you killed him! He was our teammate, our friend!"_

_"Naruto, please!"_

_"I HATE YOU."_

_Wait. This isn't real. I told myself the tears coming to my eyes. They burned from the it. "Please. Stop." I said. Beinging to cry._

With all the power I think I had left in my body I halted my chakra flow to a stop and emerged from the genjutsu.

I was on the ground laying on my back. I looked to my left. Isamu next to me. "Are you alright?"

I nodded. "Did you…?"

"No. You got out on your own."

I nodded again slower.

"Congratulations. You pass." He told me helping me up from the ground.

* * *

I walked back to the my room in a daze, but going to the bathroom first I took off my clothes and climbed in the shower, turning the water to scolding hot.

And spending the rest of my night in screaming tears and I showered away the dirt from previous five days.

* * *

Whooop!

I really hope there's not many mistakes I left behind... :(

Sorry...

I was late getting in, and getting to my computer, and so I just updated as quick as I could!

And I have a loooooonnnnnngggggg day tomorrow, so I wanted to get it up and go to bed... emphasis on the LONG.

Thanks for reading!

**PLEASE REVIEW!**


	12. Chapter 12

**thanks for the review :)**

Sorry this chapter took long I was having a bad day and I'm still tried from my long day yesterday.

Remember every update will be SUNDAY NOW.

* * *

_I do not own Naruto_

* * *

Chapter 12

* * *

I got up from bed at two in the morning. And tied my hair up into a ponytail, the same ponytail I've been using for the time I've been here. It became more of my trademark now, and it was much easier when my hair wasn't constantly getting in my face. Why haven't I done this before?

I walked quickly into the bathroom and washed my face and left the bathroom. I was still in the same outfit I got from Isamu. It was starting to get tattered a bit and I didn't think it was going to see the light of day again after these three weeks. I was a little nervous about today. Sure, it was taijutsu, one of the things I was good at, but I was also good at genjutsu, and that didn't go well at all.

I sighed taking my usual walk to the kitchen to get some food. Yesterday night, I had heard they finally replaced the cook, thankfully, when I walked in I was more than happy to see a tray full of breakfast food for each person. Yogurt, an orange, a tall glass of apple juice, and a small piece of coffee cake. I ate it happily, glad that I didn't have to eat rice and tea anymore.

I made my way back to my room and went inside to wait for my new teacher for the time being. But when I opened the door I was not only met by my lonely, creepy, room but a woman with long pale green hair in a ponytail tied low. She had hazel eyes, and it looks like she wore some sort of eye liner. She had that sort of winged design made with the liner, and it really brought out her eyes, and her outfit was plain black pants, with a shirt that stopped just above her belly button, and had short sleeves. It was a blue shirt and in places it looked ripped from wearing it all the time. Underneath the shirt was fish netting, all in all she looked like nice person, and she was very, very pretty.

She was standing right in the middle of my room. "Hi!" she said will a giant smile. "My name is Nanami."

"Sakura…" I said still standing in the door way.

"I will be the one to teach you taijutsu… I am from Amegakure." She told me and then started to walk towards me. "I left when I was ten, now I am sixteen. I am skilled in taijutsu, summoning jutsu, and genjutsu. I serve as one of Orochimaru-sama's guards here."

I smiled to her not sure on even a response to say. She was telling me all about herself for no reason. I didn't even ask.

"So then!" she said abrubtly. "Follow me and we'll get the show on the road!" she led me out of my room and we went back to the small clearing that I went to before with Isamu.

She began to wrap up her hands, and then she took off her shoes. "You should do the same." She said looking up at me from the ground. She began wrapping her feet, and I did as she told me, I sat down, took off my shoes and started wrapping both my hands and feet. "This'll be fun!"

* * *

Tsunade missed the day when Sakura was here to yell at her to finish her desk work. With all the commotion about Sakura leaving at the hospital, Tsunade had no other choice but to send Shizune down there and take charge. So now not only was she missing Sakura in her office she was missing Shizune as well.

Tsunade sighed taking a look at all the files stacked upon each other on the desk. This was took much work. Why did she ever agree to this job?

There was a knock at the door when she was just about to start on the first file she chose at random. "Enter." She yelled to the person behind the door.

In walked Naruto, TenTen, Lee, and Gai. "Oh, you four are back already." Tsunade said to them.

"Mission complete!" Lee yelled.

"Good." She responded to him. "For now there isn't any more for you all to do. But I do have an escort mission, if any of you are interested it's a C-rank, which is why I didn't mention it before, but it seems I'm a little low on people, all these missions came rushing in all at once."

"I'll do it." Tenten said nominating herself. Tsunade smiled.

"Don't you want to, Gai, Lee?"

"Sorry, Hokage-sama… we have a planned training of youth ahead of us!" Gai said accompanied by his nice guy pose.

"Naruto?" Tsunade turned to the loud mouth, that hadn't said a peep this whole time.

"Sure." He said with a frown.

"You should find another to for the mission… hm. I would suggest a someone with medical experience. Just to be safe." Tsunade said with a smile. "Perhaps, Ino could go?" she suggested.

TenTen nodded and said she would ask as soon as she left the office and the three of them would return to her office as soon as possible. The four were almost out the door until Tsunade got up from her chair, walked to the front of her desk and leaned on it a bit.

"Naruto…wait…" she said and Naruto stopped in her tracks and walked back into the office facing the Hokage.

"Yes?" he said still with the same frown.

"What's wrong, Naruto?"

"Nothing."

"We both know that's a lie."

"It's not."

"You sure?"

"Yeah…"

"Naruto… I know you miss Sakura… but you should stop being so glum. Can't believe I'm saying it but I kind of miss the old you." Tsunade said with a smile. "The old one that would be loud and running around all the time." she laughed a bit remembering how much she just wanted to knock him out just so he would shut the hell up, and stopped acting like a hyper five year old on a sugar rush.

"Is that it?"

Tsunade looked at him with surprise.

"Is that all you wanted…. Hokage-sama?"

"Uh…yes."

Naruto nodded and left the office with Tsunade staring after him in near shock.

"Hokage-sama?" Tsuande spat to herself. She didn't like it all. Of course she wasn't fond of being called Granny. But with Naruto it was different. And I kind of felt like sometimes she was his family. Sometimes. Not when he was loud and being annoying. But sometimes. She sighed. She knew this was going to affect Naruto… but this badly? When Sasuke left he wasn't this upset, was he?

* * *

The whole almost seven hours was in all reality. Not. Fun. In the slightest.

I went back to my room, muscles aching and my arms and legs felt like they should be amputated. I was exhausted and my head pounded. I was breathing heavily from doing nothing but punching, kicking, running, and dodging for the longest time.

My hands, and feet bleeding, and my feet were filled with rocks and covered in dirt from being barefoot on the ground. I forced myself to leave my bed which I was pretty sure now a little damp with sweat and blood, and headed to the bathroom.

It almost took ten minutes to walk myself from my room to the bathroom. I had to lean one hand on the wall for support as I walked so I wouldn't fall onto the floor. And that I didn't want to experience getting up on bloodied up feet and hands, with aching muscles. No thanks.

I sat down on the bathroom floor, a couple painful minutes later and started picking out the rocks I could see now, with the blood covered all over my feet. I must have taken out ten rocks from each foot. And it hurt!

I took a rag with that I smothered in hot water and put it on my foot. Washing off the blood from my foot. I bit my lip from the stinging and when my foot was no longer covered in blood I took out the smaller rocks that were embedded in the cuts. I healed the foot I now had cleaned and it no longer bled.

I did the same with the other foot and wrapped them up. They looked clean again. And most likely now had many, many calluses on them.

I did the same to my hands as I did my feet cleaning and picking the rocks from them. They felt better and I wrapped them up all nice. When I was finally done cleaning myself up, it was time for another training session. I didn't have a chance to go get food, but I would have to deal I suppose.

I headed towards the training grounds. And the thought began to pile on me. Why haven't I seen Sasuke around? I suppose I could always ask about him…

No. I might find out things I don't want to know. But maybe it was best that I should find out everything now…

And then the whole Itachi thing. I had not even a clue how I was going to manage that whole show. It was going to take time and a lot of thought.

I walked up the stairs and stood right in the middle of the field. Debating if I should ask Nanami about Sasuke. When she walked up from the in ground hideout she smiled and I decided that I was going to ask.

Might as well go for it while I had the chance, and I had a feeling that Nanami wouldn't get mad.

"Ready for some more fun?" she asked all excited to begin the second session.

"Nanami?" I said as she sat herself down to redo her wrappings.

"Hm?" she looked up at me from the ground with a questioning face.

"Do you know a guy named Sasuke?" I asked.

The smile on her face instantly turned into a frown and she looked down to the ground at the sound of his name. "Uchiha?" she mumbled to me.

"Yeah…"

"What about him?" she asked me.

"He… he used to be my friend back in the village I lived in." I said nervously. Did Nanami hate him?

"Well. You should probably stay away from him now." She mumbled. "He's dangerous."

"I can't believe that…" I answered. That was a lie. I completely believed that he was dangerous. "Where is he anyway, I haven't seen him…."

"Beats me. He usually trains by himself, and trained personally by Orochimaru-sama…" Nanami answered. "When he isn't around the hallways walking around or training, he's usually in his room. I have no clue where his room is, so don't ask. He usually has food sent to his room so he doesn't have to set foot in the kitchen. If you're looking for him you might as well give up now. If he doesn't want to be found you'll never find him. Ever. He doesn't go on missions like the rest of us. It takes away from his time to train."

"Seems like he's the spoiled Prince."

"You're right. Everyone hates him, or jealous of him. They hate him because he's a complete asshole and cold to just about everyone. And jealous cause Orochimaru-sama gives him the most attention, not to mention he's very skilled."

"So he might become a trainer for me? If Orochimaru asks him to?"

"Hell no." she scoffed. "He would never subject himself… I guess you could say… to training those lesser of him." She said laughing.

"I guess that does sound like him."

"Give it time, he'll show himself soon." She said. "News by now about you would've gotten around. And if you said that you two were friends, then I'm sure he'll come around…eventually." She said with a smile.

So that answers that mystery.

"Let's get started then!" she said standing up and she began the session.

* * *

I ate dinner by myself in the kitchen wondering when today will be over. I really had to figure out this whole Itachi thing.

I didn't want to wait too long, and then Sasuke would kill him, then I would be left with nothing. I sighed. Why did life have to become so difficult?

I missed Naruto and his loud rambles about ramen.

Ino and her constant nagging about how I needed a boyfriend.

Tsunade drinking, arguing with me, and yelling at me during our training sessions.

And Kakashi's porn book.

I put my dishes on the counter and walked out of the kitchen. Did Sasuke feel like this? Miss everyone like I am right now? There was a gut feeling in me that told me he did for a short while but forcibly suppressed those feelings and ignored them and spent the whole time training.

Unlike me who has to think about several months into the future and figure out how I was going to plan all of this.

I met with Nanami at the training grounds and finished late…. And then I finally laid down in my bed at 3 am in the morning.

I was becoming accustomed to two hours of sleep, I didn't like it.

* * *

Suigetsu was taking deep breaths. He was still hooked up to the table and Kabuto was coming around to unhook him.

Suigetsu was hungry, thirsty, felt sick, and was extremely tired. He couldn't decide what he wanted to do first, puke, eat, drink, or sleep. He barely had enough strength to get himself off the table.

"Very good." Orochimaru's voice said from the doorway. "With the data I collected from this… I'm sure we'll be getting closer to the answer." He said with a chilling smile on his lips. Suigetsu knew that was the worst part of this, when the snake said that this would get him closer to the answer he wanted. Which Suigetsu knew was a complete lie. It was to send false hope to Suigetsu, but after awhile it became easier to give up on the hope the words gave him.

"Shall I heal him Orochimaru-sama?" Kabuto asked from the table that Suigetsu was still on.

"….No….I have a better idea… Throw him into Sakura's room."

"Sakura-san's?"

"I want to see her healing abilities. Tsunade trained her. I'm only curious."

Kabuto nodded and took Suigetsu's wrists, dragged him off the table and pulled his body all the way from the sealed tight room to Sakura's.

Suigetsu's body was bruised, and red. His eyes blood-shot and he had gotten skinnier. He looked pale and not to mention the small amount of blood he spat up a few days ago was still on his mouth and a few drops on his shirt.

Kabuto opened Sakura's room and threw him on Sakura's bed.

"She'll be back soon." He said and left him there.

* * *

I came back to my room exhausted and tired. I wanted nothing more than to lay on my bed. I opened the door and walked in not even looking, my feet moved themselves. I'll shower later…. I told myself. The only thing that got me through today was the fact that today was the last day of taijutsu.

I would've laid down too. If there wasn't a loud moaning coming from my bed. My eyes snapped up and I saw Suigetsu… on my bed. Looking like, I couldn't even find a word to describe his looks.

"What happened!?" I yelled to him in panic. I sat down on the side of the bed. He didn't talk to me he just closed his eyes shut in pain from the bed moving. On his wrists were burns and as well as his ankles. It looked like he spat up a little bit of blood and his face was covered in blood. I found that it was his nose that was bleeding so much. And there was dry blood underneath the blood that was still oozing from his nose. And he was pale as a ghost.

I slung his arm around me and took him into the bathroom, set him in the shower and turned it on cold. I didn't bother taking his clothes off. I moved my hands to his wrists and started to heal them, they were terribly burned, more than I have ever seen before and I did the same with his ankles.

He was now soaking wet, and so was I since I was healing him and cleaning him up in the shower with him, but his body was still covered in dirt. I took a cloth and washed his arms, neck, and washed off the blood on his face. He was starting to look a little better but was skinny and his face told me he was sleep deprived. He looked completely exhausted from head to toe. I took off his shirt and washed his chest carefully. And took his shirt and washed it off from all the sweat and blood.

I washed out his hair and set his shirt out to dry.

When he was finally as clean as he was going to get without me taking his pants off. I lifted him up and brought him back to my room.

I had no clue to where his room was.

The next thing I had to do was get him some food. He started drifting off to sleep when I was leaving my room, but I let him drift off and I walked as quick as I could to the kitchen, got a bowl of rice, water, an orange, and a piece of fried fish.

I helped him eat up when I returned and he was finally looking a bit better than he was when I found him. I smiled feeling good that I got to use my medical skills here.

"Water…" he choked out after he finished off the first bottle of water.

I went and filled the bottle with tap water from the bathroom and gave him the bottle.

He drank it in no time but this time set the empty bottle down on the ground, satisfied with everything.

He was looking so much more better now and he just lay on my bed almost falling asleep. "Thank you." He mumbled before he passed out on my bed. Well, I guess I'll be on the floor tonight.

I put myself on the floor next to bed and tried to make myself as comfortable as possible and started to drift off from all the work I've been doing. Today was the last of Taijutsu, Nanami told me tomorrow I'll be meeting with her again to learn a summoning, and that I'll be learning some swordsmanship after all the summoning, but from who she did not know.

* * *

I woke two hours later, Suigetsu, still asleep, I left and headed towards the kitchen grabbing a apple and went up to met Nanami.

"Good, you're early! I have five different summoning contracts… You can pick two! Let's see now, hawks, snakes, cheetahs, bats, and tiger."

I could already summon slugs, but they were only used for healing. So I'd really want something that could be offensive.

"Tiger." I responded quickly. Nanami smiled at my first choice.

"Let's work on that one first before we choose another." She said.

After hours of her explaining and me trying to get the jutsu to be successful I had finally been able to summon a tiger. The tiger was bigger than I expected it to be. It was also a white color rather than the reddish orange tigers usually had. It was almost as tall as the trees, and they were supposed to get even bigger. The one I just summoned was still young. "Hm?" it said turning it's head at me. "Who are you?"

"Sakura." I responded. The tiger stared at me and then began to sniff me and looked over to Nanami. The tiger went back to me and continued to sniff away.

"Eh." It said after it finished sniffing me, it sat down unimpressed with me. I bit my lip trying to loose it after the tiger declared itself unsatisfied with me.

"Is there something wrong?" I asked.

"No, no." the tiger said looking to me.

"You're not impressed with me?"

"Uh…..No." he said turning around and laid down almost looking like he was going to take a nap.

"And why is that, I summoned you, obviously I'm perfectly capable!"

"Listen, kid…"

"I am not a kid! And I'll have you know that you should be glad that you got summoned by me, I'm nice, and smart…." I didn't know I was going to have persuade the summons, I thought that once you summoned them they accepted. That's how, Katsuyu was anyway.

"Fiiiinnnneee." He sighed, he gave up and turned around to face me, he grinned at me. "My name is Katsuro." He lifted his paw to shake mine. I reached out and put my hand on his paw, which was over a hundred times larger than a usual paw. His white fur was soft and fluffy, which surprised me. "Now that that's through, I'll be on my way." He said and then in puff of smoke he was gone.

"Well, that went better than I thought." Nanami said.

"Hm? Why?"

"Katsuro isn't the friendly type I would've thought he was going to attack you or something."

I suddenly got very nervous. He seemed not as friendly as the giant slug I summoned, but nice enough. On a regular basis he attacks people who summon them? Oh...God…..

"He doesn't even like me much, he must have saw something in you that he liked." She said with a smile.

After many hours later I had learned how to summon snakes, which were surprisingly much nicer than I thought they would be. I think they liked me better just because I was one of Orochimaru's pawns that could be the explanation to the whole thing. I was able to summon three, a large one like my tiger and two from my arms. The big one was Souta, and the two were twins named, Yuuma, and Yuuna.

After the day was over I had skipped lunch and was starving for food. I returned to my room on the thought that Suigetsu was going to be there, but when I opened the door he was gone.

I laid down on the bed exhausted from everything.

Something I noticed is that training and getting the concept of everything was easier, much easier, was this something the curse mark did? I assumed the answer was yes. It wasn't even hurting me anymore. And when I saw it in the mirror it didn't even bother me anymore, and another thing I noticed just before is that the seal was taken off of me. Something I assumed that was done when I took that pill and the curse mark awakened.

I still had one problem though. Itachi.

I sighed. I still had no clue, whatsoever, what I was going to do. I was just going to have to figure it out as I went. That's what I decided on, that I was just going to have to wait to see my limitations after the whole training thing.

* * *

The next days were spent training in sword fighting with some guy that wasn't as friendly as Nanami was and even more cold than Isamu.

I learned how to wield twin swords and might I add, that I liked it very much.

"These swords respond to your chakra natures." The swordsman told me, this was the last day of training and he still never even told me his name, and I didn't bother asking, he was scary. "Since you're first chakra nature is wind, the swords should do something with that. Experiment. I'll be leaving now, I taught you everything you need to know." He said and then left me by myself.

I pumped chakra into the swords changing the chakra in to the cutting wind, that I learned. I slashed away at trees, I could make my swords longer, and wider, than they were without anyone even noticing. To anyone else it was invisible to the eye, they would dodge the sword but get hit with the slicing wind chakra instead.

It was tricky though doing it with both swords. So I just settled on doing it with one of them.

I smiled glad with the improvement I was making here.

* * *

STUPID FUCKING TUBE! Suigetsu cursed and cursed, and cursed continuously.

He hadn't laid in a bed for so long and he was glad he got to, but when he woke up he was inside the damn tube once again. He should know not to think that it was going to go on forever living in the luxury of sleeping in a bed, a bed that was soaked in his blood and sweat, but now he was just in the tube again.

It was really starting to depress him. Finally there was someone like Sakura, nice and had medical skills, sure there was Kabuto, but he was creepy.

Suigetsu was bored, he had nothing to do at all. He was going crazy! Finally he had made a friend around here, that helped him out and now he was tossed back into the tube.

He wasn't sure how much more of this he could take.

* * *

aaaaannnnnd done.

Editing took long...

I couldn't decide whether I wanted Sakura to have twin swords or just one like Sasuke, but I wanted her to be different from him and Suigetsu.

_**please review :)**_


	13. Chapter 13

Once again thanks for all the favorites and the follows. And the occasional review :) It makes me happy to know that people like this :) :)

This isn't as long as I hoped.

But it's here and it only took me a couple hours.

But here we go!

* * *

Chapter 13

* * *

_I do not own Naruto_

* * *

Naruto took a big steps on the way back from the escort mission. He wanted nothing more but to get home and think of new ways to get Sakura back. And unlike most missions this mission was silent. Ino, himself and Tenten escorted some mother and her five-year old son back to their village about a five-hour walk from the Leaf.

Her husband had just died on a mission and she elected to leave the Leaf and get away from all the shinobi, despite the fact she was leaving her family, her husband's family and her friends behind. Naruto honestly could care less about the whole background story. But TenTen had to ask when they had left the village hours before.

They were now only about an hour away from the Leaf. And Naruto was getting impatient. Ino had given him dirty glances, looks, and he could swear she was thinking about many ways she could murder him and make his death look like an accident.

"Naruto!" TenTen yellled up to him. "Slow down!"

"I just want to get back to the village." he said trying to hide away his annoyance towards the blonde one to TenTen's right.

"So do we, but slow down, we're tired."

"Well then let's get home faster so we can go to bed."

"Naruto..." TenTen sighed as Naruto started walking ahead again.

"Yeah, Naruto it's not like you excited to see Sakura anymore like always." Ino snapped.

Naruto halted. He stopped walking, breathing, and thinking at once. At this moment he just swelled up in anger and wanted nothing more than to punch Ino square in the face. But he calmed himself by biting his tongue and turned around to see Ino staring at him coldly and TenTen standing a few feet back from her with a worried look on her face.

"Look, I just want to get home okay? Unlike you TenTen and I haven't been home yet."

"What? You want to go home so you could sulk in your apartment?"

"What did you say?"

"Oh, stop, everyone knows that you just think of ways to bring Sakura back! SHE'S NOT COMING BACK! Get it through your head!"

"I'll bring her back then! Just like how I'm going to bring Sasuke back!"

"It was your fault they're gone anyway!" Ino yelled at the top of her lungs and threw her hands in the air. "You couldn't stop them!"

Naruto clenched his fists. "You don't think I know that!" Naruto yelled. "It's just as much your fault as mine that Sakura-chan left! You could have stopped her as well!" Naruto clenched his fists even harder and took a step towards Ino, getting even angrier. "Why do you think I spend so much time thinking about her! Because I'm actually doing something! Thinking up ways to bring her back! And what do you do! You do nothing but sit at home and cry because your best friend almost killed you!"

"NARUTO!" TenTen shouted.

Naruto snapped out of his rage and looked at Ino, tears welling up in her eyes, he turned away from her, and immediately felt terrible. "Fix her, I'll meet you at the village." Naruto began walking towards the village leaving the two behind. Tears welling up in his eyes.

* * *

Sasuke sat in his small room, he wasn't doing anything really, not even thinking. Just sitting. There was nothing in his room to even do. There was a bed, a table, a candle stick in a holder, and the bag he left with when he took off from the village.

For days now he had heard people talking about a woman with pink hair showing up here. Of course his mind went to the only person in this world he believed had pink hair. But he knew it couldn't have been her.

So he ignored it.

However on multiple occasions did he hear people saying how nice it would be to get in her pants or something like that, immediately he would feel rage and want to punch that person so hard in the throat. But he calmed himself and settled for an evil look with his cold eyes. Besides he didn't even know who this pink haired woman was. There was no sense in getting mad over someone he didn't even know. He didn't even know why he was getting mad! He hasn't seen Sakura in over three years!

For the past few hours he was being bugged by Kabuto, the time has come for the newbies to fight each other, to the death. Sort of like a tournament. There was going to be seven people this time around. He was actually going to go watch it too. Any other time when it came it was always like thirty or more people, and he was not sitting there for hours just to watch that shit show.

He remembered his. His was a small group too. Only eleven. He was just glad he wasn't placed into one with thirty, or more. He probably wouldn't have made it.

* * *

_The thirteen year old Sasuke stood in a large circle, like a rink someone would see at a circus. "This is a circus…." Sasuke thought to himself. And it was true it was probably something Orochimaru thought up on the need for some form of entertainment. _

_Ten others stood around him, making a giant circle the battle was about to begin, a fight to the death that no one signed up for. When all eleven of these people came to Orochimaru they thought they would get immediate acceptance, obviously not. For the first three weeks here, some were favored and given people to train and them and others, were not so lucky and were told to train by themselves._

_Sasuke was one of the lucky ones._

_Out of the ten people who stood around him he met two, and saw occasionally, three others._

_The two he met were ones he trained with, the people who trained him thought it would be better to train their students all at the same time instead of going one to the other. Sasuke felt like he was back on a team again in the Leaf. And now he had to stare at them, and watch them die._

_Sasuke was not going to be the one to get killed. That was for sure. He was trained personally by Orochimaru himself. And was only given two different people for summoning and taijutsu. He learned his swordsmanship from a guy he met along the line. Though he didn't see that boy here today._

_Sasuke was kind of relieved that he wasn't here. Sasuke kind of liked the boy, Suigetsu, he treated him like anyone else, not some prodigy, or didn't get intimidated or jealous of him._

_Orochimaru walked up to the edge of the stands up above, for people to come and watch the circus that would be put on by the ring master._

_He looked down on us all. And grinned. "Begin." He said to everyone and them all hell broke loose._

_Kiri, a girl around Sasuke's age that he trained with came at him first with a punch full of chakra and was heading straight for his gut. He dodged swiftly and shoved his knee right into her in the gut instead sending her up in the air with the forced he put in to the hit._

_Two others were fighting with each other. "Summoning justu!" Sasuke turned around to see the person who had screamed the summoning. It was someone he didn't know with dark green hair. He quickly made hand signs and blew out fire straight towards the summoned spider. The spider was very, very, large._

_The spider began to panic and freak out, and Sasuke ran around it and threw a kick right at the person who summoned it in the first place, sending him to the ground. The boy took his two fingers and put it right were Sasuke's heart is and sent thousands of electricity shocks into his body. Sasuke cried out in pain and the boy slid out from under him taking the chance to escape._

_Sasuke was breathing heavily and clenched his chest. Sasuke drew a kunai and ran towards him. Wanting the kunai to slit his throat._

_The boy took out his kunai and now it was a battle of strength. Sasuke took his free hand and punched him right in the side. Sending shudders through the boy's body. Sasuke could have sworn he heard a crack of a rib. Sasuke flew back getting away just in the nick of time that the other was going to hit him again with one of those lightning shocks to the heart. He didn't know if he could take another of those._

_Sasuke was then put in a head lock from behind, so strong he thought he would lose consciousness in less than thirty seconds. Sasuke sent a kick backwards to the person's groin, and when released made quick hand signed and set fire to the man who had previously put him in a head lock._

_There were six left. He concluded when he looked around. There were three fighting each other over on the other side. So Sasuke saw that Kiri, the woman he sent flying into the air standing in front of his ready to strike._

_"I don't want to kill you." She said to him. "But I have too. To be able to leave this place, and go home."_

_"Home?" he said to her. "Then why did you come if you want to be home?"_

_"I was kidnapped by that creepy man Kabuto, ,to be used as an experiment. But he didn't like me anymore for his trial so I was sent here, to the Lion's Den."_

_"Even if you won, which you won't, what makes you so sure, you'll be sent home?" Sasuke's eyes narrowed at the woman with long brown hair and dark green eyes._

_"I'll escape I'll do anything to get out of here."_

_In one quick motion Sasuke took a kunai and flung it right into Kiri's heart._

_"Consider that your escape." Sasuke said to the lifeless body on the ground. He didn't want to kill her either but he knew even if she won, she wouldn't be able to go home. Not even close. Kabuto and Orochimaru knew she wouldn't win. They knew he was going to win. So they sent her here, into the Lion's Den to simply get rid of her. They sent her here to die._

_Sasuke took a breath and turned around. The boy who had summoned the spider was coming towards him now and with eyes set to kill._

_Sasuke charged up a chidori faster now, and even more powerful than Kakashi's. And the boy didn't have enough time to dodge away from Sasuke because now with his new and improved speed he took him out in a blink of and eye sending the chidori right into the boy's chest. Sasuke was a little sorry that he had to kill him so brutally but he had too, there was no choice in the matter. This was the circus after all._

_The three that were fighting before now turned into two with the third lying on the ground in a pool of his own blood._

_Sasuke wanted to end this quickly. So Sasuke summoned up a snake and it went straight for one of their heads, ripping it off viciously. And tossing it to the side. The boy left was the one he trained with, he only noticed it now._

_The snake disappeared and the other boy, Renji, looked towards Sasuke and immediately shook in his shoes. Renji didn't want to face Sasuke, he even told him that the day everyone was told about this little match._

_Sasuke was going to kill Renji, and Renji would lose. Renji even knew that._

_Sasuke went at him sliding the sword from his sheath. He went forward at Renji with the sharp sword._

_Taking it close to Renji's throat. He slit it with the speed he was proud of so much now. Renij didn't even put up a fight and his lifeless body fell to the ground. The blood pouring out onto the ground. Sasuke stood there, the blood running onto his shoes and the blood dripping down the sword._

_"Excellent work, Sasuke-kun!" a voice yelled from above. Sasuke didn't turn to look at them, he kept his eyes on Renji's body. "Come, now, let's get you cleaned up, and then get you a nice rest. Hm?"_

_Sasuke turned around this time and began to walk towards the door, to leave. He didn't bother to answer Orochimaru. He just wanted to sit in his room. Do nothing. Not even get cleaned up._

* * *

I lay in the bed of my room, thinking about tomorrow. I frowned just thinking about it. I was going to have to fight six other people, a fight to the death. I felt sick. I didn't want to have to do this. But I had to. It was part of the assignment.

The morning came and I put on a new set of clothing I earned after my other ones were ripped and pretty much covered in tons of dirt, blood, and sweat.

A fish net that ended just before the belly button, a red leather jacket, black gloves without fingers, black tight shorts, and wrappings from the knee up a short distance with a kunai pack strapped on. I smiled seeing myself in the mirror, my hair tied up in the ponytail I always wore now and I was ready to go.

The new Sakura Haruno. I said to myself. I took a breath and made my way towards the place Nanami told me to go, the place where we are going to meet for this fight to the death. I sighed my during my long walk to the large area. Six people already positioned in a circle. I took my place there. I took a breath. I had to make it through this whole thing. Just had to.

After this I would be one step closer to killing Orochimaru, figuring out how to get in touch with Itachi, and Sasuke, whatever his fate will be.

* * *

Suigetsu got out of his tube. Orochimaru always let Suigetsu out for the big battle. He never knew why.

Orochimaru had made a huge deal about letting him out this time, and Suigetsu also wondered on that but then Orochimaru opened his mouth and said, "Your new friend will be in this time."

His mind went to Sakura.

Orochimaru was either letting him out because he felt nice today and wanted Suigetsu to cheer for his friend or he wanted Suigetsu to watch her die.

Not only was this battle made to sort out the strongest from the weakest, but it was also a test on how much you wanted to be here, how much you wanted to live under Orochimaru.

Suigetsu wasn't entered in one and he was glad he didn't have to. Just because he didn't want to be here. And the only reason he still was, was because Ororchimaru liked playing prick the pin cushion. Or in this case Prick the Suigetsu.

If it wasn't for that. He'd for sure be dead. So Suigetsu didn't know if he should be thanking Orochimaru for keeping him alive or if he should be thinking up ways to commit suicide.

* * *

Sasuke sat down in the far back, not to mention that where he was sitting was completely dark. But that was fine he liked distancing himself from others. And that seemed what everyone else did here. He always guessed it was from their adventures into the Lion's Den, killing people who you've talked to once or twice, or saw around the hideout.

Sasuke blinked twice at the pink haired woman who just entered the circle. No.

He saw the hair in the ponytail, the short hair in a ponytail, the red that she wore. She looked like Sakura but not like her at the same time. He drew a breath and got up from his darkened seat to see her eyes. It wasn't her until he saw the emerald-green eyes Sakura owned.

He didn't want to, he didn't want to see the green eyes she had.

But of course he never really does get what he wants does he? So he of course saw the green emerald eyes on the woman…. No.

He still wouldn't except that it was her.

"Oh, you like Pinky?" Sasuke turned his head to the boy who had taught him how to use a sword all those years ago.

"What's her name?" he didn't hesitate to ask. Maybe it was just a coincidence?

"Sakura…"

Damn. Sasuke gripped the railing. His knuckles went white.

"Sasuke? What's wrong?" Suigetsu said with confusion. "WAIIITT. She's from the Leaf, you're from the Leaf…. Do you know her?"

Sasuke didn't answer. Suigetsu already knew that answer just by seeing him grip the railing even harder.

He was more mad than anything. WHY WAS SHE HERE? WHY WAS SHE DOING THIS? THE HELL THAT HE WENT THROUGH SHE HAS TO GO THROUGH TOO?

He wanted nothing more than to kill Orochimaru. But that would come sooner than the people here expected.

Orochimaru walked in just like in his, and opened him mouth just after grinning evilly down at Sakura, and then to Sasuke. Enjoying the look on Sasuke's face. "Begin."

* * *

_YAY! SASUKE YOU SHOWED UP!_

_I can't help but be happy now that he'll be in the story more._

_I still haven't come to the conclusion of how Sakura is going to get in touch with Itachi... Hm... Any suggestions to get my creative juices flowing?_

_NEXT CHAPTER SUNDAY AUGUST 8TH_

_Funny how that worked out... the new Panic! At the Disco CD comes out that day..._

_Good thing I pre-ordered it for ten dollars :)_

_Still sorry for not having this up yesterday. :(_

**_Please review_**


	14. Chapter 14

_OH MY GOSH!_

_I got so many reviews and by many I mean like three of four! But that's the greatest thing ever for me!_

_Right now, I'd like to thank you all who have been reading this every week. That's just awesome._

_It's the best feeling ever that people come and read your story every week. It's just awesome._

_Keep reviewing! I love it!_

_Here we go with the update! :)_

* * *

Chapter 14

* * *

_I do not own Naruto_

* * *

"Begin" came out of Orochimaru's mouth as I stood down below in the rink. There was seven people here, including me. And I had to be the survivor no matter what.

Right when that single word came from Orochimaru's mouth it began. One of the younger girls went flying at the other younger girl and the two men started taking kunai to the other's throat. I took a breath realizing all I've done is stand here watching everyone else. Think Sakura what do I do now?

This wasn't like a mission or anything, where I was killing the bad guy, this was just plain out killing.

Survival of the fittest.

A twisted version of natural selection.

I didn't want to use a lot of chakra so I drew out my twin swords that were latched onto my back. I charged towards the two men that were fighting each other. I slew them in a quick motion of my swords. I didn't even have to be as close to them so the real sword touched them. The wind chakra took care of the rest and slit them, their bodies falling to the ground blood pouring from the cuts.

They were probably confused as to how I cut them down from so far away.

I turned around to take a look at everyone else and a woman the same age as me kicked me in the right arm and by surprise I dropped my right sword. I gritted my teeth. And went to slay her down with my other sword but she avoided it by jumping up. Smart, it was the only way to dodge my swords. She came straight down charging, sending her chakra to her hands, yellow light came from them and began to pour down on me. I couldn't see anything! I had to get out of there.

I ran forward taking a guess, and ran right into something sharp. I yelled out in pain when the sword collided into my abdomen. I looked, and now I was able to see more clearly, it was someone else now, a man. Remembering back to when I fought Sasori, rescuing Gaara, I put my hands on the wound formed by the sword and began to heal myself. Cringing in pain.

What was I going to do about this guy? That was the real question. Knowing that the only thing I thought of was going to hurt, and it was going to hurt a lot, I did it anyway and took the chance. Sending chakra down to my foot and sent up the foot to his chin sending him up and when he tried to grasp the sword the sword moved up along with him and I groaned in pain.

In one swift motion I pulled the sword out and healed as much as I could. I took a breath and stood up from the ground. The man came back down to the ground and I took the sword, compliments of him, and shoved it right into the same spot he got me. I breathed heavily, still recovering from the stab wound. I healed a bit more.

The woman was coming up fast on me and went to punch me in the spine put with my speed I acquired while here, dodged, and punched her down into the ground with the punching method I learned from Tsunade. I stood triumphantly. I killed four people. One of the girls survived and was fighting a man who looked to be my age.

I was going to have to kill them, it was as simple as that. I moved my hands into signs and slammed my palm to the ground.

Katsuro, the tiger, appeared and stomped on both of them without even trying. His large size needed the entire area otherwise he wouldn't fit. I took a deep breath. I thought I could feel myself going unconscious and my chakra levels weren't so great either and Katsuro disappeared in a poof of white smoke.

I grinned. I made it through. I was one step closer…

I felt the darkness coming over me. And a burning sensation I felt around the wound I had yet to heal completely. I moved my hand over the wound, and immediately frowned. Poison.

My vision became blurry and the ringing in my ears grew louder and louder.

I was falling. Like that sensation when your half way from being awake and sleeping, and your body jolts awake like your falling.

I couldn't even tell what was happening anymore. I felt sick like I was going throw up. I fell to my knees and used my hands to support myself up. Arms slung around my waist, and it felt like I was thrown onto a man's shoulder.

"Bring her along." A voice said.

"Hn."

* * *

Sasuke stood up in the gallery with Suigetsu he saw Sakura get stabbed by the sword, he knew it was poison. When he saw her fall to the ground he whipped into action, senses flowing through him, protective instincts, and slung her onto his shoulder.

Kabuto instructed him to follow and he did of course listen, he knew more about this stuff than he did, so he was going to follow Kabuto's instructions, even though he hated taking orders.

Kabuto brought them to a room with a cold metal table in the middle. "Lay her there." Kabuto said and he did so. He stood there looking down at Sakura, she was cringing in pain. And her brow furrowed from the poison that flowed through her body. Wet tears fell from her eyes. "Na…" she mumbled. Kabuto was off getting supplies in one of cabinets and didn't notice her incoherent mumbles.

"What?" Sasuke said to her quiet enough so the creep didn't hear.

"Naa..ru…"

Sasuke squinted his eyes at the half-conscious girl.

"Naru…to…." She mumbled.

Sasuke's face had a frown plastered to it. And he was upset about this more than anything right now. This was why they were different. She wanted people to care for her, to help her along with the struggle. He did not want any of that. At all.

So Sasuke left the room, and let Kabuto go to work.

* * *

When I woke up, I was back in my room, in the cold, dark, boring room. I could barely move and I was sore. I could barely see anywhere when I opened my eyes. I vaguely remembered what happened. I was fighting the others and I killed the last one remaining, and then everything was dark. Black. Nothing.

My throat itched and I wanted to get up and move around more than anything but I was tied to the bed. "Good, you're awake." Came a voice from the door. I slowly moved my head over to see Kabuto. "Sorry about the restraints." He said leaning against the door frame. "In order to get the poison out you had to stay still."

I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out. I couldn't even nod my head. I was beginning to get a rather large headache at the back of my head as well. This was just getting worse and worse.

"It's fine. You won't be able to talk for a bit. The poison he used weakened you more than I thought it would. And I'll give you some pain killers that'll help you get to sleep." He told me. "Unfortunately though I cannot remove the restraints yet. It'll be a couple more painful days."

This was going to be nothing but hell until this poison wore off. And I was going to fall far behind on the plan.

* * *

"Naruto." A woman's voice called from behind him as we walked from the ramen stand and towards his house.

Naruto turned around to see who called him and was surprised to see the short, woman, he knew to be Sakura's mother. Naruto was a little taken back. He didn't think that he would ever be confronted by her mother.

"Naruto, I want you to bring my daughter back to me."

Naruto woke up in a cold sweat and jumped from the slumber he was just in. He breathed heavily, the dream he had just had made his heart-ache. He got out of bed and went to the kitchen and took out a glass. He filled it with tap water from the sink and drank it down faster than he ever had before. "Naruto." Was the dream happening in real life? And she was in his house?!

Naruto turned to the voice, but them he registered that the voice was more manly than Sakura's mother. Sitting at the table was none other than Jiryaya, drinking a cup of tea."WHAT!? WHY ARE YOU HERE IN MY HOUSE!?" Naruto yelled stunned spitting out water in the process.

"I'm going to take you training. Tsunade made it clear to me that you need a break away from everything. And what better else thing to do would be to take you out training!"

"Listen, pervy sage, I'm not in the mood."

"But I can turn that mood around, with a little bit of training. Come on; let's take a quick look into the things I can teach you? You want to save both right? Then you need to tweak yourself a bit more."

* * *

I woke this time not in pain, I was able to see, and I was no longer strapped on the bed. I could move around and my throat no longer burned. I could talk, which was probably my favorite of the things that went back to normal.

As of now I was standing in a room with Orochimaru, waiting for another person. He had informed me that he had a mission for me, my first mission, which what I was told was always hard and exhausting.

I really hoped that those rumors were wrong.

About a minute later someone knocked on the door. "Enter." Orochimaru stated from the opposite side of me. The door creaked open and in walked a man I've never seen before. He was about my age, with brown hair, and blue eyes. He had face paint on that reminded me of Kiba and Kankuro.

"Good." Orochimaru stated, "Now that you both are here I can begin."

My heart began to beat faster, I was worried about the mission he was going to throw at me. I took a deep breath mentally preparing myself for the terror to come.

"You two will take a little trip to Kari, a small village outside Amegakure." Orochimaru began. "There you will find a man named, Taro, he owes me a large sum of money. If he doesn't pay up, kill him."

Even though this was Orochimaru we were talking about it seemed kind of harsh.

"How much does he owe?"

"63,000,000 ryo."

My eyes shot open. Was he serious? Where in god's name did Orochimaru even get that amount of money to begin with?

"Of course, with interest, that is the amount. Originally it was 30,000,000. That was a couple of months ago, now I demand 63,000,000."

That's barbaric!

"Yes, Orochimaru-sama."

"You'll leave for Kari tomorrow. I left a small map in your room Sakura, Kabuto should have laid it on the table. Make sure you know the route. Don't be seen either."

I nodded. After the meeting I departed the man who I was going on the mission with tomorrow, whose name I still did not know. I walked all the way back to my room, this whole Itachi thing was driving me crazy!

I would have to think long and hard about this whole mess.

I entered my room and went to the table taking a look at the map. Kari was right there and it looked to be about ten miles north of Amegakure. I sighed. It was going to be raining. I could just see it. Amegakure. Why did that place ring a bell so much?

And then it hit me like a train.

A couple of months ago I was rifling through Tsunade's papers and saw a mission report from Kakashi's team. I could see it clearly. It was a mission report to a mission on the whereabouts of the organization Akatsuki. The organization that just so happened to have a certain Itachi Uchiha involved. I took a breath. Smiling, this was going to probably be my only chance to get a hold of Itachi. I had to take it.

But how. I wasn't going to be in the village, I was going to be outside the village, with another person. I can't just say, "See ya' later, I got to go talk to an old friend who just happens to be in Akatsuki, oh and by the way, I'm a spy, and he's working with me."

I shook my head. What to do!? I was half way there. I could almost touch it. I had no choice to go on the mission, so while on the mission I might as well try at least. And I needed to succeed. Why did this have to be so freaking difficult?!

Not to mention I hadn't even been thinking about killing Orochimaru, or that whole Sasuke mess. I haven't even seen Sasuke yet!

Sighing, I walked to my bed laid down, and drifted to sleep.

* * *

The next morning I woke, changed, and freshened up, and the ate a small breakfast. I was ready to go, all I had to do was wait for the guy that I was going with.

I waited outside for about ten minutes until he decided to come out. "Sorry, I got lost." He said nonchalantly.

"You get used to it." I responded. So was this guy like really, really new?

"Doubt it. I've been here for three years." He said with a small laugh.

I was shocked. Three years and he still didn't know his way around here? I've been here three weeks and I know this place like the back of my hand!

"Anyway, I'm Kachi." He said holding out his hand for me to shake. And I did so.

"Sakura." I said with a smile.

"Nice to meet you, let's go then?"

I nodded and then we began out run towards the village.

It was a five-hour trip from the hideout to the village, and we stopped once to take a long, cool, drink of water. We arrived at the village just in time for dinner. We walked around the village looking for a bar. Bars were always the easiest place to get information. The bar tender was always sober, and he usually knew everything about everyone.

We walked into the bar to receive stares of from the civilians sitting and having a drink. All men. Not one woman in sight. I took a deep breath and went towards two empty bar stools. Perfect.

"Goo' evenin'" the bar tender said when we both sat down. "Wha' can I get you two?"

"Just a hot cup of tea." I told him looking around the room, catching glances from others.

"An' you?" the bar tender said asked looking towards my partner.

"The same." He said with a smile.

The bar tender left and then went to get the cups of tea as we received even more glances from the people around. It wasn't my fault. I didn't drink.

The man came back with the cups of tea and set them in front of me. "Anythin' else?"

It was now or never, "Listen, we're looking for someone." I said immediately, "Do you think you'd be able to point us in their direction?"

The bar tender laughed a bit, "Well, sure…. Who ya' be lookin' fur?"

"A man, Taro, is the name." Kachi told him.

The bar tender smiled. "Everyone's lookin' fur him. He owes a lota' very dangerous people, a lot of money."

"That would be why we're looking for him. So could you give us a little nudge?" Kachi said.

"Well sure, that be him, o'er there in the corner. Comes in every now and 'gain he somehow always has the money to drink."

I turned around nonchalantly to see the direction he was pointing in. A fat man, with brown hair, bags under his eyes, and it looked like he hasn't slept in months.

"He used to be the top dog on the drug scene. Now he's just a poor man, who owes money to everyone. Who ya' be working for that they sent ya' here?"

I laughed at how ridiculous the question was. "Like we'd tell t only you." I shot back.

"Alrigh', alrigh', because I haven't seen such a fine lookin' lady here in a while." He said giving me a wink.

Ugh. I need a shower.

I looked over to Kachi and he looked at me, in sync we both nodded and went over to the man. I was actually starting to like Kachi and I think he would probably be my only friend here. It was nice having someone like that, I could rely on. I had Suigetsu as a friend, but he disappeared to god knows where.

We were coming up close, to Taro, his eyes were locked right on us, Kachi looked over to me giving me a nudge. "Let me handle this." He mouthed, "Believe it or not I can be very convincing." he said giving me a wink.

Two winks in less than a minute. Was I looking exceptionally well this morning?

"Ah, Mr. Taro!" Kachi exclaimed loud enough for the entire bar to hear. "Let's take this in the back shall we? Away from all the onlookers, hm?" he said glaring at Taro.

"No thank you, young man, now shoo!" Taro waved him away and continued drinking his tall glass of beer.

Kachi's eye twitched.

In a flash, Kachi's foot hit the bottom of the table flipping it over and leaving the mug empty on the ground, the beer spilled all over the hardwood floor. "Let me rephrase. You are coming in the back with me and my partner here. Okay?" Kachi said putting an evil grin on his face.

If Taro wasn't scared shitless. I defiantly was.

Taro looked down at his spilled beer, and back up at Kachi, and grinned. "I don't think so." He chuckled deeply. "Now, you've spilled my drink. And I am not very happy about that."

Kachi grinned right back at him. "I think you owe my boss a, from what I hear, a very, very large amount of money. And I for one, will be either taking back the money you owe, or no one, and I mean no one will find your body. And no one I bet will miss you. I mean, the others who you owe money to will surely be upset."

"If you do that, that's calling all of them after you for the money."

"Oh? Then I'll just have to kill them as well."

"Don't be cocky, boy." Taro growled. "Just who is your boss anyway?"

Kachi laughed cruelly. "Orochimaru."

Taro's face went pale, blank, and he started to sweat. He began to get very nervous and even looked as if he was going puke up right in front of everyone.

"Now," Kachi said with the grin back on his face, "Let's try this again? Shall we?"

* * *

"I still can't believe that you scared him like that, he ran out of there faster than I think he ever ran." I said with a laugh.

"I'm surprised as well, I didn't think we'd be getting the money. I thought I was going to have to kill him." He said.

"Do you always do these kinds of missions?" I asked, "You're so good at intimidating them."

"These are the only mission I ever do."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I take care of all of Orochimaru's money. Mostly though I put the people who never gave him back the money in their place though."

"Well you certainly have a talent for it."

"I like to think so."

We were sitting at a ramen stand. Kachi was unbelievable hungry. And so was I but, I couldn't eat ramen, it reminded me too much of home and Naruto.

We were going to be heading back soon. But then the subject of Itachi bounced into my head. What do I do? Knock him unconscious and make a break for it?

Thinking about the information I reviewed over spying and espionage over the years, nothing that came to mind was slightly possible to do in this situation. But then it clicked. Kabuto was the key word in this whole entire situation.

When he acted as a spy for the Akatsuki or something like that and met the fake Sasori we made way back when.

I thought about it more. And figured it was going to be the only chance I had.

"Kachi?" I mumbled.

"Hm? What is it?" he said slurping up a noodle.

"I need to make a detour, to Amegakure."

"Amegakure?" he said putting the chop sticks into the ramen, pulling more out and putting it in his mouth, not even swallowing before he spoke again. "Why?"

"I have a spy there. Informing me occasionally on the Akatsuki. They contacted me saying I need to get there."

"Hm… Well. Okay."

I expected more of a fight not just a, "Okay." That was so far the one easy thing that has happened the whole time here.

"You're not even going to ask who my contact is?"

"Nope. You probably wouldn't tell me anyway, so what's the point? I trust you, you're a good person. So I'll meet you here. Hurry back. I want to get home." He said shooing me away while taking a drink of his glass of water.

He was letting me go? This was the opportunity I couldn't pass up, so I got up slowly from my seat and left.

Now I was just hoping I wasn't going to get killed by any member of the Akatsuki. That would be embarrassing.

* * *

**_New Story Alert._**

_Life. Deleted._

___There was a beeping. That's all I heard. Beeping. Why was there beeping? I __didn't understand….__Wait…. Who am I? Where am I?_

___New Chapters every Monday_

* * *

_I got this done on time this week :) (pat on the back for me)_

_I hope that the chapter didn't have a lot of mistakes. I think I got them all but near the end I got bored and tired, and just went AH FUCK IT, and updated. _

_I was actually even busier this week than last, so I'd really not sure how I got through. I guess it was a fun chapter to write. _

_Next chapter should be better! Itachi finally makes his appearance, another complication, and we can finally get a move on with the whole Sasuke situation._

_Next Sunday will be the update day again. _

_And another thank you to all that reviewed. It really brought a smile to my face._

_**Please Review.**_


	15. Chapter 15

Holy poop.

Zero motivation to write this.

I wrote half of it yesterday, which I didn't even get half way through and i believe it took me almost three hours.

Biggest obstacle today probably would have been the fact that LIAR LIAR was on and then after PRETTY WOMAN came on. WHEW.

SO anyway, those of you who had been reading Life. Deleted. I'm trying to update when I can for that. It's really hard to write two chapters a week, and my main concern is this one right now.

My latest obsession had been Youtube. Seriously. I can spend hours watching people such as...

Joey Graceffa

Shane Dawson

AmazingPhil

Danisnotonfire

and others... such as collabs.

I have a problem.

* * *

Chapter 15

* * *

_I do not own Naruto_

* * *

I ran through the trees towards Amegakure. From the looks of the map, it wasn't going to be far away. Which I was thankful for. I started to see a small light, and the trees began to part. I was getting closer, soon I would be out of the woods and finally closer to Itachi.

You would think that I would have a clue, a small idea, on what to say to him, but I don't. No clue whatsoever. Or even that I would practice what to say as I edged closer, but no, my mind was a blank sheet of paper. I sighed. I really had no clue. And as soon as I saw him probably incoherent babble was going to come from my mouth.

I was getting closer to the village and I would probably be noticed the second I walked into the village.

Clearing the forest, I was now met with rocky land, with mud, and puddles around. The rocks were grey, the sky was grey and clouds began to form above signaling more rain will be coming. I picked up my pace and saw foot prints in the mud as I began to get closer and closer to the village.

I began to see skyscrapers as I continued through the rocky lands. And more and more buildings popped up from the distance. It began to pour down rain as I got closer. It came down sideways, the clouds and sky getting darker and flashes of lightning began to come preceded by thunder.

I sighed. I got caught in the rain and in began to pour harder, so hard that the rain actually hurt coming down on me. I was going to be terribly sick. I knew it.

I was a half mile away from the village, and I began to mask my chakra to the best of ability. I needed to go completely unnoticed through this village. I took a deep breath, as I came to one of the multiple entrances into the village.

I had never been here, but I've heard rumors. It was the poorest shinobi villages. Rumors circulated that rapist walked the streets of the village, and that the jail for criminals was so small that most of the murders and thieves still walked the streets. They had no hospital, just a clinic that had no system of running things, and when Konoha received a mission associated with them or involved Amegakure, only male ninjas would go, and they were usually ANBU level. There were very few schools, and those who did not become ninja were screwed it they lived in the actual village instead of outside the village, were it was very, very expensive.

Like in the olden days, girls, did not go to school, they were taught at home how to cook, clean, make clothing, help the sick, and support a husband and family. To be a girl and become a ninja was a privilege to have, and your family would have to be very, very rich.

I entered the village, realizing that I had not even a clue on how to find Itachi. For all I know he might not even be here! Now, that would be very disappointing.

I had to think, should I try zoning in on chakra? No, I don't know his chakra signature. I sighed, walking down the main street. Maybe people noticed them around? That got me thinking. I guess time to try the bar technique again. I found the nearest bar and entered. Many people sat wearing worn out clothes, some soaked and some dry. Some might have just entered the bar to get out of the rain, I walked in drenched from head to toe, and took a seat in one of the booths in the back. I had to collect myself. How exactly was I going to do this?

"Hi there." I looked over to the source of the voice. A teenage girl stood before me a little younger than me, with sleek black hair and black eyes. She had a pen and paper, ready to take my order.

"Oh, hello."

"Would you like me to get you anything?" she said with a smile.

"Anything hot?" I asked.

"Coffee, hot chocolate, and tea."

"I'll take a cup of coffee, just sugar, no cream." I told her.

She nodded and walked off towards the kitchen. I sighed. I couldn't decide if I can trust her with asking for information on the Akatski. Plan #1. Fake identity.

The woman came back with a cup of coffee and set it on the table with a smile. "Anything else?" she asked. I looked down at the coffee then back up to her.

"Actaully," I said, "I'm looking for a certain someone. I'm from another shinobi village, my name is Mai, I'm here on a mission, undercover, see you look like someone I could trust so I decided to ask you. Have you any information on an organization called the Akatski?" she asked.

The girl looked around and put her pen and paper on the table and sat on the other side of the booth. "Well," she began. "they run the village really, every month all the businesses must pay interest to them. We always meet our interest, but they are still scary. It's usually the same two every month who come in here, but everyone once and awhile it changes to these really, really, scary people."

"Do you know their names?" I asked getting anxious.

"Well, the regular ones, the one man scares me, I don't know his name, but the nice man, I only know him by Uchiha-san."

"Uchiha-san?"

She nodded.

"He's actually quite nice. Unless he's in a bad mood. One time a man here, drunk he was, threatened him, and I nearly had to rebuild my whole diner." She said, the memory bringing a smile to her face. "He is nice though, he doesn't let any of the suspected rapists in the diner. He even posted a sign out front. He doesn't like it when the men try to attack me. The scary people though, I don't even like being here when they come. I don't know his name though, he doesn't come with a partner."

"When is the next time Uchiha-san will be here?"

"Tomorrow, unless the other man comes. But tomorrow should be the day." She said with a smile. "Why such a fascination with him? You're mission isn't to kill his is it?"

I gave her smile. "No, we're just… I guess you could say old friends." I told her. "I just thought since I was here, I'd stop by and see him."

"Oh," she said putting on a big smile. "I'm sure then, he'll be really happy to see you."

"One more thing…" I stopped her as she rose from the booth. "Is there a safe place I would be able to stay tonight?"

She nodded, taking her pen and paper. "There's an inn about a block away. My family owns this whole block, so I know it'll be safe there as well, Uchiha-san keeps the block under his safety. My elder sister runs it. She knows Uchiha-san more than I, perhaps she can tell you if he is coming tomorrow."

"Thank you." I informed her.

So this was going to take longer than I thought. I sighed, at least I was going to finally see Itachi tomorrow.

I drank my coffee and walked out of the bar and down the block. I wanted to make it to the inn before it began to rain again.

* * *

I opened the door to the inn and walked into the little room that had a desk, two chairs on the side of the wall and a vase of purple flowers. Behind the desk was a woman sitting in a chair, she looked the same as the waitress from the diner or bar, or whatever I was just at. So I assumed she was the sister.

"Oh! Helloo!" she said with the biggest smile on her face as ever.

"Hello. I was wondering if I can have a room for the night?"

"Of course!" she said cheerfully and put a book and a pen on the desk, still with the smile on her face she said, "Just sign in here, I'll give you your key then, it'll be 300 ryo."

I smiled and took the money from my pocket, the money I took a little extra off the guy who owed Orochimaru. I wrote down the name Mai. And took the key happily, just glad I was going to have somewhere to sleep for the night.

"Oh," I said remembering just as I was about to go upstairs to my room. "Excuse me." I said turning around.

"Yes?"

"Your sister, at the diner a block down, referred me to here, I'm looking for someone…. And she told me you would know where he is, or when he'll show his face around here."

"Really? Who might that be?" she asked the most confused expression on her face.

"Uchiha Itachi." I said. "You're sister calls him Uchiha-san."

She went pale and her legs began to shake. She broke into a cold sweat. "Why would you ever look for him?"

"Let's say he's an old friend."

She fell to her knees onto the floor. "You're not after him are you?" she asked suddenly her face read worry. Like she cared that I was going to kill him.

"No, no." I told her.

"It's just, Uchiha-san keeps my family safe. Myself, my sister, my husband, and my new baby boy. If you were after him, and you killed him, I have no clue about what would happen to us."

I smiled at the woman. "No, I'm not after him, I just want a friendly talk is all. Will he be here tomorrow?"

"Oh, yes. He comes here every month to collect dues for his group. Then he stops by at my sister's for lunch."

I smiled. Finally. "What time does he usually show?"

"He comes at different times each month. But you can leave a note, I'll make sure to give it to him and I'll send him up to your room.

"Oh, why thank you." I said with a smile. I need to make the note something that'll get his attention. I thought for a minute and took the piece of paper she was handing me. A wrote with the pen on the desk,

_Itachi,_

_I know the truth of the_

_Massacre. I am now put into the_

_Same place as you. See me._

_For now, my name will remain as_

_Mai._

I folded the paper once and handed it to the woman. She smiled and I walked up the stairs, down the hall, and unlocked my room.

The room was decent, a large bed with a pale blue set of blankets and sheets, a small window, a table and chair, and a small bathroom, with a walk in shower, toilet, and sink. Perfect for one night and it was nice and clean too.

I showered for the longest time and dresses back into my clothes, covered myself up in the warm bed and fell asleep the quickest I have in a while.

* * *

I woke up from the thunder and the flashes through the small window. I got up and washed my face, pulled my hair in the usual pony-tail and made the bed. I had no idea what time Itachi was going to get here but I had to be ready for when he came. My final decision was going to go with the flow and not even think of the conversation we were going to b having.

I sat down on the bed and began to get rather sad, all the times I was ever in a hotel room I was with someone for the mission. And now, I was alone, by myself.

Just as I was beginning to fall asleep there was the most quiet knock at the door. I would have never heard the knock if I had been asleep, I barely heard it awake. I thought that maybe this was going to be him and I suddenly felt sick to my stomach, like I was going vomit all over everything. My heart pounded and I broke into a cold sweat.

I was so nervous. So I got up from bed and walked to the door. I unlocked the three locks that were on the door and opened it slowly. Still quite afraid.

Behind the door stood the tall man, with long black hair tied into a pony-tail, the black robe with red clouds and the cold eyes that reminded me of Sasuke. His forehead protector fastened on with a slash right through the symbol of Konoha.

I didn't say anything at first. At most I was just shocked that he actually had come to see me.

"You?" he mumbled squinting his eyes at me, he towered over me, he was taller than I expected him to be.

Again, I didn't say a word.

"Why are you so eager to see me?" he asked in an emotionless voice.

I still didn't say anything. I felt like an idiot, just standing there with the door open staring up at the Itachi Uchiha. He as well didn't say anything more and we just continued to stare at each other until I cleared my throat and forced words out finally.

"I didn't think you would come." I said. It sounded more stutter though and like I was very, very nervous and I felt like I was going piss my pants.

"Your letter was convincing." He said squinting his eyes again.

"I'm still shocked."

"Who told you?" he asked.

It still took a minute to register what he was even talking about, he was talking about the whole massacre situation.

"The three musketeers. Who else?" I said making a little joke.

"Damn them. I thought I had sworn them to secrecy. Obviously not." He sneered and then let himself into the hotel room. He seemed to have a content disposition which caught me a little off guard. "So they told you everything?"

"Pretty much." I told him.

He rolled his eyes. "Even about how I'm supposed to be spying on the Akatski? If they sent you here to gain information on them I have nothing for you. They don't tell anyone anything."

"No, not exactly. I was sent to spy on Orochimaru, and I was also asked to get any information on the Akatski from you, but you had already said that you have nothing. They told me to get in contact with you and form a sort of alliance."

"Orochimaru?" he said looking at me. "Our alliance then will be very short then. As you probably already know a certain someone is out to kill me."

"That's why I wanted to act fast. I assumed you had information but I suppose not."

"No, the only thing I know of is that there is a hunt for the jinchuriki. And the bijuu is being absorbed into a statue. But you probably already know that."

"That's all you know?"

"Yes, and that the statue is being used as some sort of weapon once all nine are collected."

"That's what was assumed."

"I'm sorry I can't offer you anything more. If I gain anything else before my brother comes and kills me I let you know. Other than that I'm afraid I have nothing."

"After I return to Orochimaru, I will be making trying to join Sasuke, like a team, I will try to let you know when he is coming."

"Thank you but, that's not really needed." He said turning to leave.

"Oh, and… Another part of m y mission is to return Sasuke back to the village." I said to him. He stopped and didn't bother to turn to look at me. "I'm afraid that if he refused to come with me, I have been instructed to kill him."

I could tell his mood suddenly changed. And his face wore one of shock but he didn't turn around, so I couldn't confirm it.

"I think you'll do whatever is best for the village." He said and then walked straight out the door, returning to the cold Itachi everyone knew instead of the version of the Uchiha I had just say, a talkative, normal human being.

I breathed out a sigh of relief. That was probably the scariest thing I had ever went through.

After having my heart beat return to normal and I was able to breathe again, I packed up my things, and left the inn, saying goodbye to he woman downstairs and getting a quick bite to eat at that diner down the block.

I left the diner and began walking down the street, leaving Amegakure behind. I never wanted to come here ever again. Never.

In a little over three hours I was back at Kari town and met up with Kachi.

* * *

"What are you doing Kabuto?!" Orochimaru yelled coughing up and blood running down his mouth.

He began coughing harder from the bed he sat out and Kabuto stood near cleaning up from the process of making the medicine. "Are you all right, Orochimaru-sama!?" Kabuto runs over and tries to help out Orochimaru with all the coughing and hacking.

"I'm fine. Just a little longer now and that body will be mine." He said in between the heavy breaths he made. "My rebirth shall come soon. I'm feeling wonderful." After he finished speaking he began to cough more and more.

"You've reached your limits? Haven't you?" Kabuto said trying to calm down Orochimaru by rubbing his back. "If I don't give you some Rank Ten medication you body will…" Kabuto didn't finish the sentence. Instead he walked away from Orochimaru, once he began to breathe normally again and took the tray that was covered in many bottles of medication. "I'll go replace the medication now." He said and walked towards the door. He opened the door and looked back just as Orochimaru began to cough again. "Just wait a little while." He said and then left the room, closing the door.

* * *

Sasuke sat in his room, dark room, meditating, yes, meditating. Soon, he could get up and, soon he could finally get to the part where he got revenge.

* * *

Well thank god I finally got the Itachi thing out of the way.

Seriously Itachi, I love you, but show emotion.

He was a little out of character, but I had no choice. So i made it seem like that was the real version of Itachi. I'm tired.

I'm dreading next chapter.

Off to bake brownies.

See you next Sunday!

_**Please review!**_


	16. Chapter 16

Glad I got this done early, because I will not have anytime this weekend. For anything.

Thanks for the reviews, the favorites, the follows, you guys are awesome!

I've had a long night, and I really don't feel like editing, but you gotta do what you gotta do.

WHEW this week had been a bad one.

And on with the chapter...

* * *

_I do not own Naruto_

* * *

Chapter 16

* * *

Sasuke sat on his bed sitting there. He was calming himself, sure he was a calm person to begin with but he wasn't getting stressed, he was anxious. Anxious to kill.

The time was finally right. He was going to kill the bastard. He was ready to kill him, get Suigetsu out of the tank and leave. He already had an idea on who the people he was going to bring. Not that he wanted friends, he needed tools, people he could use that would help him along the way. Sasuke was strong, but he couldn't do multiple things all at once. He wasn't that good.

Sasuke was still sitting on the bed an hour later. He couldn't be fidgety. He didn't want to make a fatal mistake and he end up the one being dead. That would ruin everything.

Sasuke's room wasn't really like everyone else's. There were no candles, no lights, mostly because he didn't have the need for them. All he did in here was sleep, and meditate, and both of those things he could carry out in the dark, and not candle light.

He ate outside during his training. And all day he trained.

The days he wasn't training he was either on a "mission" or taking very, very long baths.

He took a big breath in and decided that he was going to get up from the bed and finally do it. His eyes opened slowly and he rose from the bed and took the sword off his nightstand and walked towards the door. Finally taking a step into his plan.

Sasuke walked all the way from his room to Orochimaru's, he knew were he was almost always, last he heard Kabuto was trying to take away the pain or something.

Sasuke had finally got to the room, and heard the man maniacally laughing from the inside. Sasuke muttered under his breath "Lunatic." And then put it hand up the the door and shot a lightning shaped sword through the door and into Orochimaru, he wasn't sure what part of him he got, but he knew he had successfully stabbed him.

Sasuke, with the other hand, slashed open the door with his other sword.

When the door fell apart completely, the two stared at one another for a while.

"As expected, it came down to this, after all." Orochimaru muttered to himself.

"You have nothing more to teach me." Sasuke said to him. "It seems that while standing before you," at the time, Sasuke's curse mark activated and his sharingan went into full swing, "I can become heartless." In all honestly Sasuke has never once killed another. Never. Well there were times when they died because of the wounds, but he never actually killed someone and watch the light leave their eyes. He held very high up on the dangerous list. Orochimaru was going to be the first person he was going to kill. He could become heartless now, and kill the snake. Kill on free will if he wanted. This was going to now be the most dangerous aspect of him.

Sasuke walked closer to Orochimaru, he realized that where he stabbed him was in the wrist, on nothing but defense, and as he edged closer to him, the chidori sword began going in deeper than before going through both his wrists and hitting the wall behind him. "Orochimaru, you're weaker than me." He said, "There's no point in giving you my body at this point."

"Big words for a mere Uchiha hatchling!" Orochimaru sneered.

Sasuke smirked, "If I wasn't a hatchling, I never would have sought you out, right?" the electricity continued to jolt through Orochimaru. "During our fight in the forest of the Chunin Exam, you were repulsively evaluating this hatchling, seeing what it was worth."

The memories of the fight came to Sasuke's mind, the time when he was with Sakura, and Naruto. And Naruto got himself dumbly defeated, and Sakura did nothing but stand behind him. "And so you put a mark on me, then you sent those guys to restrain me, like some animal that needed to he herded." And then the memories of those times with the Sound Four, who were now dead, on his friend's behalf, flooded into his head.

"I am an avenger." Sasuke said, coming out from the flashback. "In order to exact my revenge, I thought discarding this body would be fine…. You only wanted the Sharingan, right? However, Itachi, was too much for you to handle. That's why you wanted me, the hatchling. Right? Mister Genius of the Reputed Sannnin." Sasuke said with a small chuckle added at the end, "Perhaps, the world did acknowledge you as a genius, but you could never reach the level of a Uchiha."

Orochimaru began to sweat and shake from the lighting running through him.

"No matter how much of a genius someone is, they are nothing but mediocre when put next to the name Uchiha," Sasuke continued, "You've even drugged and transferred your soul and body, before my name, your methods at achieving the power of a Uchiha, are laughable." He said with a grin. "At best." Sasuke's grin turned into a frown.

"I always disliked your methods, you use people for your own selfish reasons and view them as toys, continuing to play with them." Sasuke moved forward all at once, to have the advantage of surprise and sent the lighting sword straight through, blood pouring from his wrists.

Sasuke went to go slit his throat, but Orochimaru already had a plan, and spat out one of his clones, leaving an empty container behind. He had turned into a large serpent, his snake body was made up of smaller snakes and his head became large, scales formed and his face, triangular.

"A white-scaled serpent, so this is your true form?" Sasuke muttered to Orochimaru. Sasuke was almost amused. He grinned at the pathetic being, "In order to transfer form body to body, all the experiments, in the end, this is what you really are?"

"Now, Sasuke-kun," Orochimaru rasped. "I'll have that body of yours." The snake creature jolted forward and the smaller snakes form his body went up and tried to attack Sasuke. Sasuke dodged and sliced the snakes. He landed on his feet and put his swords away, letting the curse mark completely take over him. And the snakes wrapped their bodies around him, his hair turning gray, his skin turning to the dirt colored brown and the mark on his nose grew. Wings sprawled out and sliced the snakes into little pieces.

"Unfortunately for you, hawks kill snakes."

* * *

Naruto sat in the park, doing nothing as usual. He never had anything to do anymore. He sat on the swing not even thinking about anything, he stared at the ground, the sky, people-watched. He bumped into Chouji and Shikamaru, and they were nice enough to ask him to come and eat with them, but he wasn't really feeling up to hang out with people and said he was fine right here.

"AH!" cried one of the kids over by the see-saw.

"Ew!" yelled another.

"Don't go near it!" one the mothers yelled to the children. She tried to pull her children away from whatever it was.

"You there!" yelled a mother, Naruto looked up and saw that the woman was talking to him. "Would you mind killing this snake here, I'm afraid it'll go crazy and hurt the kids."

Naruto got up from the swing and walked towards the bush where the children were gathered. Naruto really didn't want to kill it, it was just minding it's own business and had the unfortunate luck of being in a park filled with kids, but the mother was right, what it if did attack the kids?

Naruto didn't know much about snakes, so he couldn't really say every thing was going to be fine or justify that the snake was harmless.

So Naruto came closer, took out a kunai, and was about to impale it to end its life when a giant bird came from the side, swooped down, and grabbed the snake.

"AHHHH!" all the kids screamed, scared by the sudden appearance from the hawk.

Naruto frowned, as the hawk flew away with the snake, and slipped his kunai away.

"Well, thankfully that hawk was here, to kill that damned snake."

* * *

Even larger snakes flew towards him and he flew up fast, and made another chidori, with the sword, and sliced them to death. Orochimaru's head quickly swarmed towards him and unhinged his jaw, ready to kill.

Sasuke took the sword he had sheathed awhile back and went forward and sliced right through the serpent's body cutting it in half. The snake creature fell to the ground, covering it with blood. Sasuke's curse mark began to retreat, and Sasuke began to calm down from the fight. "Already?" Sasuke said to the dead snake, "Disappointing." Sasuke fell onto his knees, and heavily breathed.

The "dead" corpse began to laugh and what he thought where he slashed off his entire neck from the rest of his body, steamed red, "It looks like it's finally starting to take effect." He continued to laugh, "When the body fluids of the Great White Snake evaporate into the air the gas turns into a paralyzing drug, I am immortal!" Orochimaru stated. "With your current skill, you will never kill me."

"Now," Orochimaru rasped, "you will be mine!" and Orochimaru opened his mouth and swallowed him.

Whole.

* * *

After meeting up with Kaichi, in Kari we immediately left, with no time to lose. He wanted to get back as quick as he could, otherwise Orochimaru would have a rant ready for them, and that was not good.

"Is it me? Or do you have a strange feeling, in the bottom of your stomach?" Kaichi asked as we ran through the trees.

"Yeah, but I just thought it was my hunger." I told him.

He rolled his eyes. "Something just doesn't feel right…"

"I'm sure you're just nervous of what Orochimaru would say…"

"Nah. I'm used to his stupid yelling."

"Maybe you're hungry too?"

"Hm. No I don't think so."

"What do you think it is?"

"Death."

"Death?" I said giving him a puzzled look.

"Heh, sorry that was a pretty dumb answer to give." He said chucking nervously.

"I'm sure everything is fine." I said.

* * *

"What the?" Sasuke muttered.

All he knew he was in a strange place, the ground was slimy and gutty and it was moving. "This is a dimension that lives within me." Came a voice. No body to go along with. It was Orochimaru.

The guts began to gather in a certain area and grew taller. "This is where the rebirth ritual takes place."

Sauske thought he was going to throw up, the guts moved up and up and part of it moved away, showing part of Orochimaru's face. "Let us begin."

The guts started forming around him, and some came out of him, he had not even a clue how to react to this, bodies from the floor of the guts came up, and of course they were also covered in the guts.

This was all just one big mess.

Remain calm. Sasuke told himself. Sasuke concentrated, and soon the Orochimaru that was covered in guts was nailed with large rusty spikes. Orochimaru inched forward. White the guts climbed all over Sasuke, trying to restrain him.

* * *

And then Sasuke found himself back in the room, eyes unfocused, tired. His brain was fuzzy.

His eyes focused and he was able to see once more. And he felt a presence off to the side behind the wall. "Kabuto, huh?" Sasuke just walked right on past Kabuto without waiting for words to form in Kabuto's mouth. And Sasuke began walking down the hall.

"Which one are you?" Kabuto asked, Sasuke stopped in the hall, he turned and smirked mockingly.

"Which one do you think?" he said with a grin and the sharingon flashed in his eyes.

Sasuke had killed Orochimaru.

* * *

Itachi walked back to the hideout, an uneasy feeling coming over him. Was it the drugs? The disease? No it was something else. It was going to drive him crazy just thinking about whatever it was that was making him feel like this. Something happened and he didn't know what.

* * *

Myself and Kaichi arrived back at the hideout. And a strange quiet filled the air, that just didn't seem right.

"Do you feel it now?"

"Yeah." I answered him.

"What do you think?" Kaichi asked. "Should we go in?"

"I suppose so…"

Kaichi nodded and entered the hideout, I followed right behind. We began walking down the hall towards Orochimaru's room, and the strange atmosphere continued to get thicker. Footsteps. That was next. We continued to walk straight ahead.

And then I saw him, Sasuke.

Kaichi stopped in his tracks, though I didn't notice and continued to walk forward, unphased and not afraid of Sasuke, unlike most people that were here.

"Sakrua. Come with me." He said as he passed me.

WHAT?...WHAT?!

"Hold it right there!" I scolded, as he continued to walk, there he stopped, just in front of Kaichi. "What's this about? You ignore me and completely avoid me at first and now you want me to come with you? Like you need me?"

Sasuke's fist clenched. "I had not a clue you were even here until that mess Orochimaru puts on every time he wants a new pet. Instead of being rude you should be thanking me."

"THANKING YOU?! WHY THE HELL WOULD I THANK YOU!?" I yelled. "For what, leaving me unconscious on a bench? Almost killing me, Naruto, Sai, and Yamato? Or perhaps…"

"Stop." He said turning around. "You still are annoying, and no, you should thank me for saving your life, you collapsed from poison and I brought you to Kabuto. Usually they just let you die on the ground, but I rescued you. Now, come with me."

"You?"

"Yes."

"Why?" I asked. "Why should I come with you?!"

"Orochimaru is dead."

"WHAT?!" Kaichi screamed, out of shock. Sasuke glared at him for intruding.

"I killed him, now let's go."

"That doesn't even come close to answering my question."

"I don't care."

I looked to Kaichi then back to Sasuke.

I walked towards Sasuke, choosing. I saw a small speck of blood on his white shirt. "Did you…." I trailed off going to touch to the small trace of blood. He caught my hand before I could even get close. Okay, this was weird. Why is being so…. Nice. Not nice, but the Sasuke version of nice.

"Yes, I killed him." Sasuke said right to my face.

Kaichi frowned and furrowed his brow, pulled out a kunai and took a stance ready to kill Sasuke.

WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?

"What are you doing?" Sasuke said looking towards Kaichi.

"You killed Orochimaru-sama, you can just as will kill Sakura."

"That would be pointless." Sasuke answered, "Now, shut up."

I looked towards Kaichi, he was still ready to attack.

"Tell your guard dog to heel." Sasuke mocked and let go off my hand realizing that he had still been holding onto it. "Then we can go, we have a lot to do."

"Just what are you taking me for?"

"You can heal, and you were Orochimaru's favorite, like me, most likely you got the best attention. You have your medical skills along with the training from Tsunade, and now the training from people here, you will be highly useful in my search for Itachi."

"HOW DARE YOU! Talk about Sakura like a tool to use."

I knew that was just how Sasuke talked, really, to me it sounded like a compliment coming from Sasuke.

"Kaichi, it's fine…"

"No, it's not. He can't just walk around here doing whatever he pleases just because he's strong, you have pissed me off since day one!"

Sasuke continued his glare at Kaichi. And then he hand contacted with Kaichi's throat, and slammed him against a wall.

"Sasuke!" I yelled at him. "Stop this!"

Sasuke tightened the grip out of anger but then released him onto the ground.

"Let's go, Sakura." He said and then began walking down the hall. And I followed.

Sasuke just did part of my job, and I wasn't even mad about it.

* * *

Sasuke had led me into a dark room, with tubes just everywhere, water in the them, and bubbles coming from the bottom of the tube. I wanted to ask where we were but I was a bit afraid to know the answer. It was like a set from an alien movie, were people kept alien bodies in the glass tubes and studied them. I shivered from the creepiness. We walked all the way to the back, one in the middle on the wall, hooked up to every wire known, and the bubbles traveled up the tube as we inched closer.

"So it's you after all." Came a voice.

What the fuck? The water talking? I hid behind Sasuke, terrified to know what was just about to happen. I was a sacrifice wasn't I? To a water god or something like that? Oh god I could see it now…. Orochimaru would feed the water god people who were useless, ones he didn't want. I broke into a nervous panic attack in my head.

"Since you came here, I take it you have defeated Orochimaru."

"Yeah." Sasuke said and the drew his sword. Oh god what next, is he going to slash me open and let the water god drink my blood first?

"More importantly, I'll let you out of there."

WHAT!?

In one fluid motion water began to pour out from the tube and onto the floor the water racing out and making the room, a lake now, rather than a room with a floor. I rushed to the side of Sasuke that wasn't being drowned in water, to stay clear of the rushing water. A blob formed in the middle of the water, oh lord it's coming to get me! I panicked, I didn't know what to do….. I hid behind Sasuke again, as Sasuke turned to talk to the blob.

"I'm finally out." The blob form said, "Thanks, Sasuke."

"Suigetsu…" Sasuke said, "Come with me."

"SUIGETSU!? WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME!? INSTEAD YOU HAD ME FREAKING OUT HERE THINKING I WAS GOING TO BE SACRAFICED TO ONE OF OROCHIMARU'S WEIRD EXPERIMENTS!" I yelled at Sasuke, in my mind I pictured hitting him on the top of the head, like Naruto, or Sai. But I didn't know what the result of that would be considering Sasuke.

"Oh, pinky." Suigetsu said from the water.

"Stop calling me that!" I commanded.

"I just told you I needed you to come with me why would I sacrifice you?" Sasuke stated.

He was right. I jumped to conclusions. I rolled my eyes.

"You could have at least told me. Anyone else I should know about before I have another heart attack!?"

"Two more."

"Oh, some more company." Suigetsu said rising from the water. Completely. Naked.

"Juugo from the North and Karin from the South."

"Ugh, really? I'm not very fond of them."

I was the only one who had no clue what they were talking about.

"I just don't think I'm going to get along with those two. Anyway what's this whole big plan you have, why do you need all of us to complete this? Besides, I might not really want to go with those two, Pinky here is okay though."

I rolled my eyes.

"Quit your babbling, and put some clothes on."

* * *

YAY!

Pretty much next chapter will be similar to the recruiting of Karin and Juugo like in Naruto, but somethings will be different becasue of Sakura, and then from there on out it'll all be different.

These episodes were 113-115

It took a long time.

I could have described more when Sasuke actually killed Orochimaru, but you all get the jist, and you have all seen the episode...

So yeah, the fight's not that exciting anyway...

Next Sunday like usual.

_**please review :)**_


	17. We're making progress

Okay!

So I don't have microsoft office, but I now have some free generic version, which is the same thing anyway.

Anywho! Chapter 17 will be put up not this Sunday, but next Sunday.

Sorry for the long wait everyone.

But don't worry!

The Difference Between You and I is now back up and running!

See you next Sunday!

NomiNamikaze


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Naruto, Drama, Romance